


The Art of Fusion

by ExistanceSucks



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Fusion, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28044942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExistanceSucks/pseuds/ExistanceSucks
Summary: Scout grew up with a father in his life, Spy, he taught him everything he knows. Even if he may never be fit to go into espionage like him he's got his own set of skills to bring to the table, the introduction of fusion adds yet another problem to the equation. Secrets are building, threatening to overflow but giving up isn't an option. He will fuse, despite everything, despite Spy especially.
Relationships: Scout/Sniper (Team Fortress 2)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 28





	1. Human Fusion

**Author's Note:**

> nice to meet you :D

Human fusion was impossible, however, Mann Co. liked making the impossible possible. Immortality, instantaneous healing, robotic soldiers. Through their constant rivalry the two brothers have brought about changes to this world over the last hundred years that could not have been reached for a thousand.

“I am only one person” Ms. Pauling continued “So I can’t show you as fusion requires two participants” Her voice faded out with the memory. That was a year ago, Scout didn’t dare fuse with anyone. Why? It was simple. He didn’t want someone in his mind reading his thoughts. Especially since he had grown up with the red spy as his father. No one knew and no one was going to find out any time soon, over the years the effort they put into hiding his involvement in their family was extraordinary. One fusion and it could all go tumbling down. Then again, could it really? Scout was really curious about how fusion felt. It couldn't hurt that much if he did it only once right? At least the ceasefire was active, maybe he could-

“Scout”

“Huh?” He looked up from his dinner which he’d only been moving around for the last couple minutes, Engineer had a worried tone to his voice, had he been calling his name this whole time?

“Uh sorry, I spaced out what were you saying?” When he looked up it wasn’t only the Engineer that had a worried look on his face.

“Nothin’ too important son” Scout shrugged, then took a bite of his potatoes. Too cold. He sighed before standing up with his plate. When he had first seen the base he hadn’t believed that it was now home. Living with seven other brothers made their already small apartment feel even smaller. What the team used as a living room was also the dining room and the kitchen. A couch was pushed up against the wall, there was even a tv. To scout it was luxury, even if the kitchen had a ton of cupboards, it was confusing but they’d gotten used to it after Engie labeled them. After rooting around in the ‘randoms’ cupboard for a while he found a box of tin foil, as an afterthought Scout wrote his name on it before shoving it in the fridge, he wouldn’t be making the same mistake Heavy did any time soon. For a moment he hovered over a can of bonk! before shaking his head and closing the door. Maybe the doc could explain more about fusion. Why was this on his mind again? Right. No one had ever asked him if he wanted to fuse, he defiantly didn’t because spy was one hundred percent right. Totally right, bad fusion. It still stung. Fusion had taken his lack of friends and shoved the fact in his face so he couldn’t avoid it.

Spy didn’t like him, Engineer thinks he’s a kid, Sniper had always been annoyed by his constant monologue even though he never said it outright. Demoman thinks the same as Engie, He’d never apologized to Pyro so that was a bust, Heavy thinks the same as Engie and Demo, and Medic doesn’t see teammates he sees experiments. Soldier's personality isn't exactly compatible with his. Even if he did think about fusing, who would he fuse with? None of the team listened to him when he started talking, that was obvious when Hardhat mentioned he didn’t know Scout liked baseball. That might have been a while ago but He still thinks about that whenever he gets tempted to show him tricks with Spy’s butterfly knife. Speaking of Spy, he’s still looking for it too. Imagining Spy’s frustration at the missing knife brings a smile to his face.

“Herr Scout are you injured?” Oh right, his feet must’ve brought him to the infirmary.

“Uh… No, no I just thought you might know stuff about fusion. I mean if your not busy, honestly it’s not really that important”

“Well if it’s distracted you through dinner it must be”

“I- what?”

“Heavy brought me dinner” That explains it, He must’ve been really out of it if Heavy mentioned it to the doc. “So, what questions?” Right he came here to get answers.

“Uh, I was wondering about fusion. Can fused people- how do they- uh…”

“Talk?” Medic had an amused look on his face “Mind to mind. Defining it as talking isn’t very accurate now that I think about it. You communicate through a mental connection, through pure emotion and mental imagery. The stage before your words reach your mouth, so not mind reading but something very close. You can lie, however it’s very hard. The basis of a fusion is to represent the relationship and personality of both participants. Especially strong fusions are known to have their own personalities, there are plenty of experiments I have yet to enact” Medic paused to slip his glasses on, documents were strewn about the desk, he seemed to have a system as he picked the document he was looking for out of the pile easily. “You're thinking about fusing?”

“No-”

“Well if you do” Medic looked up from under his glasses with a slight pause “Sniper should be a good match, since it’s your first time I suggest doing it during the ceasefire” Before Scout could say anything he spoke up again “Go on now, bitte, these documents won't forge themselves”

“Uh, right, sorry” Scout shut the door behind himself quietly before letting out a breath. Sniper, of all people. On the plus side he would find out just what Sniper thought of him, then again, did he really want to know. Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back, right? Well, either way he doesn’t have to do it today.

Before Scout could think about it any longer his stomach growled demandingly. Instead of heading back to the kitchen as his stomach insisted, he headed to his room. If he started eating while Spy was on dish duty he’d probably tell Scout to clean his dish, which he was gonna do anyway by the way. He’d tried to convince the spy to fuse with him before, whatever insanity was floating around in his mind he clearly didn’t want Scout to see. It was probably just a Spy thing since the other team’s Spy avoided fusion as well. Technically he had been taught espionage by him, he could understand why the two avoided fusion and had such anxieties. He understood but by the spy’s words Scout was too “reckless” to be a spy, he agreed, espionage wasn’t for him. Deciding to fuse with Sniper would just be another tally on the chalkboard.

He took a long look at the emblem on his door, staring at it as if it had all the world’s secrets, his arms slack by his sides. Not slack for very long, he opened the door and in a fluid motion put his back to it as he entered the room, hands behind his back head bent in thought. Spy would never let this go if he went through with it. Scout trusts Medic though, even if he is clinically insane, actually maybe he shouldn’t. So, pros and cons, what’s the worst that could happen? If Medic is both right and telling the truth then Sniper could catch on to him. As long as Scout kept talking though it would probably be fine. Sniper doesn’t ask questions, he’s the quiet type. Cons? Medic could be wrong.

Scout stepped away from the door and started shuffling through the mess on his floor, maybe he could find that one green bouncy ball he lost a year ago and distract himself with it. Maybe under the bed, eh he didn’t really want to look under there, it’s all cobwebs and dusty. He moved the blankets draped over the side of his bed anyway, he was greeted by the sight of his lockbox, the bouncy ball just behind it. Right, that’s why he really didn’t want to check under the bed, the bouncy ball suddenly wasn’t worth it. Now sounds a good time for a late dinner. His life has turned into a game of keep away. He’d clean his room but it would ruin the game. So Scout left his room and headed to the kitchen.

Demo was draped over the couch, a bottle of something most likely alcoholic on the verge of tumbling out of his grasp. Pyro sat on the ground in front of the coffee table with his hands on his cheeks staring happily at the television. He didn’t even realize Scout was there till the microwave beeped signaling that the leftovers had been cooked.

“Hudda Suud!”

“Hey pyro, just grabbin’ leftovers” Maybe it’s just his guilt that’s keeping him from befriending the firebug. Yeah that’s it.

Scout grabbed a can of bonk before heading outside, it’s summer so it’s been hellishly hot out. They should’ve gone somewhere colder for the summer, the administrator never cared much for what they thought. At least the sunsets made up for that. At least it wasn’t so hot at night. Scout sat against the base’s wall in the dust, squinting at the sunset. The dust reminded him of the baseball diamond he’d last run on.

“So, you asked medic about fusion”

“Jesus” Scout hissed, unfortunately the damage was already done and his dinner now sat on the ground in a sad heap “Spy I hadn’t even tasted it, this is like the tenth time this has happened. How do you even get over here? Isn't Red like ten miles away?” He scowled brushing cheese and sour cream off his jersey.

“You should have heard me coming” Scout heard the familiar click of Spy’s lighter and scowled. If he’d been unsure about fusing before, “You’re thinking about fusion”, now he had to do it just despite him and of course he just ignored his questions as usual. He only just asked medic too, it's like he existed only to piss him off.

“Yeah that’s right, and you can’t do anything to stop me”

“Reckless”

“Uptight”

“Brash”

“Snooty”

“I- We should test it out before you do anything” Spy sniffed in a very snooty way.

“Yeah I already asked you and you said no, pally” Scout sneered, Spy took a drag from his cigarette before sighing in an exasperated manner.

“Let me know what happens then” Damn self-important fu- jerk…

“Right” He seethed, only breathing through his teeth when he was sure Spy was gone. He glared at the plate sitting on the ground, so much for a nice sunset. He continued his glaring for a couple seconds longer before picking it up tenderly and heading inside to clean up. He could’ve at least made his footsteps louder or something. Scout grumbled choice words under his breath as he walked to the living room, he peaked around the corner somewhat surprised. Someone was always in the living room yet somehow no one was there now.

“Nice” He murmured, casually making his way to the kitchen pushing a couple chairs in before- Someone was in the kitchen, he jumped holding tighter to his plate. Potatoes are apparently very slippery, since the plate decided then was the perfect time to fly out of his hands and shatter “Shit” he was too tired to give a proper reaction, one thing after another, this day just wasn’t getting any better “Sorry Pyro you startled me”

“Tuh hay Suud?” Pyro reached behind the fridge and brought out a dustpan passing it on to scout, he sounded concerned at Scout’s lack of reaction.

“Tough day?” Scout asked hesitantly, Pyro nodded “I guess you could say that” Scout smirked but it fell from his face after a couple seconds and he sighed. “Just got something on my mind is all, darn slippery potatoes” His glare didn’t last long though and he set himself to cleaning up the now ruined plate. He bit back a pained groan, his neck hurt like it did before you’d cry, at least his eyes weren’t stinging.

“Enhee hud huddaha hicks hat”

“…”

“Hu Hun” Pryo sighed and handed him a sticky note with messy handwriting on it.

“Thanks Pyro…?” Rather than throwing the plate away like he had planned he takes the dustpan and it’s contents with him. Engineer would likely be able to fix it like Pyro suggested, probably not but it was worth a try, for now he should just focus on finding him. Usually after dinner he was seen heading to the garage, in fact, most of the team thought he had a room down there. He probably did since no one ever saw him go anywhere else before bed.

It wasn’t really accurate to call the garage a garage since Hard hat had pretty much taken it over like Spy took the library. Only four of them could legally drive and none of them used the garage to house their cars, even spy. You’d think he would, but no, his car just kinda showed up whenever he needed it. Probably had some secret underground hanger for it or something. Good thing he did or Scout would have caused a drop in value ages ago. Really, that sleek red paint job was asking for a new one. Almost like Spy’s face begged to get punched. Maybe a couple flat tires too, yeah, that lifted his spirits a little. Scout shook his head and opened the door to the garage hesitantly, he froze at the sound of Engie’s sentry gun but relaxed remembering where he was. Hard hat was hunched over a desk, his lamp only barely lighting up the edges of the room, blueprints muddled the desk like the Doc’s papers earlier that day. He knocked on the side of the wall to catch the Inventor’s attention but he was too absorbed in his work. This would take a more direct approach. Scout slipped a red piece of cloth from his pocket, a smirk betraying his intentions before he could act on them.

“Hey, Hard hat”

“Uh, yeah yeah just put it by the door” Unfortunately Overalls was too focused to see it.

“Hard hat, Pyro dragged Cyclops through a teleporter and now they’re stuck in a wall"

“Hmm, yeah?” “RED SPY” He suddenly screeched, tossing the fabric into the air as the Engineer's machines swiveled in its direction, gunfire filled the room and when Scout opened his eyes the engineer sat dumbly on the floor. The now barely distinguishable piece of red floated through the air and settled gently on Engie’s hard hat.

“Dag nabit Scout, quite with your pranks already I’m busy” Engie scowled dusting his legs off when he stood. Scout probably shouldn’t have scared him like that if he was going to ask for a favor, he could just ask for the glue and do it for himself, Engie probably wasn’t in the mood to help him at the moment.

“Uh, do you have any glue?” Scout winced at his own question and pulled the dustpan behind his back to hide the broken plate, yeah he could do it himself.

“Glue? Yeah, what type of glue do you need.” He already seemed to see the dust pan though and raised an eyebrow “Broke something? If it’s glass I suggest letting it go you’ll see all the cracks in it” Scout huffed, he wasn’t that stupid.

“Just a plate, I should probably just get a new one” He mumbled the last part but the other seemed to catch it before he could leave.

“Now scout, don’t leave so fast let me take a look at it” He gestured Scout to enter and pulled up his goggles to get a closer look at the plate. A grim expression crossed his face and he was about to say something on the matter before the look on Scout’s face startled him out of it, ah, so this was Scout’s plate. When they first arrived at the base there had been plates already in storage so no one had worried much. Everyone of course brought their own possessions so it wasn’t a surprise that some mercs added their own plates, bowls, or cups to the collection. However there was only one merc who didn’t share and that was Scout. It was only the plate too. Probably had some sentimental value. There was a time when Demo had grabbed it on accident, the whole incident had been strange, Scout hadn’t talked for the entirety of dinner. There seemed to be a silent agreement after that not to touch the plate. It was gorgeous too, perhaps hand made.

“I can try, don’t get your hopes up though. It’s a fine piece of china so perhaps getting help from Spy-”

“Not Spy.” Scout insisted suddenly with an angry look on his face.

“Not Spy? Alright, are you sure? He probably knows more about-”

“I’m sure”

“Alright” Engie hesitated “I’m not sure how long this will take, check in next week” Scout nodded, he seemed almost unsure what to do next before awkwardly heading for the door.

“Thanks” The door closed behind with a satisfying click and Engie relaxed with a loud breath. One thing he sure he wasn’t going to do was not ask Spy for help, whatever sentimental value it had was obviously more important than his vendetta against the spook. He took a closer look at the plate arranging each broken piece on the table. There was a small bird on it’s center, he’d never seen it when Scout was eating, probably covered by food. He would wait then, until Scout fell asleep, just in case. For now he had to clean up those bullet casings.


	2. Scout's Hideaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is purely for fun :D
> 
> This also means I wont being going over stuff to smooth it out D:

Scout had tried avoiding his thoughts of fusion but they just kept nagging on him, jumping into his head when he least expected it. His brief discussion with Medic continued to come back to him, he hadn’t had anything negative to say about fusion. In fact considering the doc’s mental state the way he described it could be classified as encouraging. So, what does one do when one can’t get a topic off one’s mind, finish it. Scout groaned rolling over in his bed dragging blankets with him as he tumbled to the ground with a strangled cry.

Unlike Scout, Sniper was completely unfazed by the mourning’s rays, in fact he had risen before them and was now cleaning his gun with a thoughtful look on his face. Something crazy was always happening at the base, with how little he interacted with the others they often forgot that he was even out there. He’d seen many things transpire with such an advantage, the group had always wondered where Soldier met Lieutenant Bites but he didn't, he’d seen their meeting a couple years ago on an especially rainy day. Scout had wondered where Demo hid his Scrumpy, Medic had wondered where Pyro got his lighters, Even Heavy was curious as to where Medic got his bird seed. The answers were painfully obvious. Demo hid his scrumpy in an old storm cellar, Pyro would discreetly steal Demo’s scrumpy for his lighters, and Medic pays Lieutenant Bites off with who knows what for seeds. It had shocked him at first but really what was he expecting. All because everyone forgets the walls of his camper are paper thin. So when Medic of all people had dilly dallied next to his camper for longer than an hour he couldn’t help but slam the door of his camper in annoyance and give the scientist the ultimate glare of death for interrupting the peaceful quiet of his camper.

“Ah Sniper I hadn’t realized you were home”

“Really” He said deadpan, if he could hear medic then medic could definitely hear him cleaning his gun.

“Sorry” He winced, Sniper took a breath and took in the doctor’s overall attitude. Worried about something maybe? Definitely apologetic for his loud pacing. He’d never seen Medic like that before, usually he was less feeling more manic.

“Alright” Sniper let out a breath preparing himself for whatever rant was about to leave his teammate’s mouth “What’s on your mind” Medic froze, He moved to speak again but Sniper continued, reaching behind him to grab an extra chair “Don’t try to lie to me mate, I may be antisocial but that doesn’t mean I can’t tell what wrung hands and pacing means” He deflated running a hand through his dappled hair before speaking.

“I apologize, It’s hard to explain really.”

“I’ve got plenty of time” Sniper grinned, unfolding the chair next to a small black pit where the occasional fire was lit.

“Right” Medic hesitated before sitting down, it was a bit low for him but it would do for now “It’s about the RED team’s scout, I know both our teams struggle to find the closest match for either team. At first glance you look similar to their Sniper, at first glance I look similar to their Medic. Even when it comes down to technique we are startlingly similar. But their Scout-” suddenly the doc shook his head “Maybe I should talk about this with Spy, this is more of his type of thing ja? It’s almost like-” Medic sighs, his nervous demeanor relaxing “No, I’ll leave my treasonous ramblings to spy, I’m sorry to bother you Sniper”

“S’alright, this may be more of Spy’s speciality but I’m not the type to snitch” He’s given a measured glance and a small smile from medic before the other speaks again.

“You may be less antisocial than you think Sniper” The only answer can give to that is annoyed huff and a tip of his hat to hide his eyes. When the doctor finally left the wind started to pick up throwing clouds of dust at his face and the campervan. He closed up both folding chairs and put them away, each window of the camper slowly closed with the sound of screeching betraying the metal’s age. Engie probably had oil he could use on the poor vehicle’s hinges, even sky light could do with some. So Sniper slipped on his usual pair of aviators and locked the door behind him, no point in encouraging Spy.

The temperature of base always surprised him when he entered after spending a day of the ceasefire in his van, always cold. The difference gave him goosebumps, Heavy pointed it out once as he’d grown up in frigid temperatures and was surprised. Either way he was cold even if everyone else was warm. First things first, coffee. It was later in the day so a couple people were already in the kitchen, usually he came earlier but it was a ceasefire.

“Hud Sudda! Hud Huha! Hud Hud!”

“Good morning Pyro” Spy said from the dining table, his nose stuffed in a paper.

“Aye, I think I’ve got a hangover” Demo muttered on his way to the kitchen.

“You always have a hangover” Spy took a sip of his coffee before going back to reading, Sniper sighed and followed Demoman to the kitchen before stopping suddenly at the sound of him hissing in pain. He peeked into the kitchen only to see Demo pull a shard of something out of his foot. Great now the floor was bloody.

“Hud-h heese hu Suds ahht!” Pyro exclaimed before grabbing whatever had been in Demo’s foot and running off.

“What was that about?” Sniper asked curiously.

“Dunae but that’s the last time I walk around here barefoot”

“What made you think it was a good decision in the first place?” Spy called from the kitchen, Demo only groaned.

“Shaddup, you too eyelander. I’m going to the med bay” As soon as Demo was out of his sights he glared at the offending bloodstain in front of him, at least it was a tiled floor not a carpeted one. Not that he didn’t know how to take blood stains from carpet. Sniper gathered a wad of paper towels before he cleaned up as much as he could dry, he would not go through the hassle of digging the mop out from the very cluttered cleaning closet. Half the stuff in there wasn’t even cleaning supplies. As soon as he added water to the equation the whole floor was ruined both bloody and muddy. Sniper groaned, pressing his palms to his eyes.

“Spy, I’ll be back in a moment, don't let anyone in the kitchen” If the living room had a door he would have slammed it behind him. The cleaning room, as he suspected, was filled with everything but cleaning supplies. They probably had a mop but there was no way he was using one of those with how everyone walks around with shoes on. Rather he bundled up a stack of towels instead, they were already dirty so it didn’t really matter if they got blood stained. When he finally got back to the living room Scout was collapsed on the couch. Spy gazed up at him then folded his paper and left the room leaving his cup behind. I guess it was only fair since he kept Scout out of the kitchen. He picked up the cup and put it in the sink before soaking one of the towels and getting to work.

By the time he was finished he had found several more shards on the ground and the floor was completely clean. His mind wandered. It had been a year and only a couple fusions had been discovered on both teams. Their most stable fusion had been between Pyro and Engineer. After that the team’s vision of fusions was greatly changed. The fusion had called itself Forge and brought something to the team they hadn’t had before. Not only a new support class but a friendly disposition and good teamwork skills. Forge definitely wasn’t the strongest fusion when it came to power but when they were in a pinch Forge was the best to turn the tides with moral support. Forge couldn’t partake in the fighting but they soon found they could attach weapons to an ally or even censor that beeped when a spy was behind you. They’d learned the hard way though that starting off with Forge would cost them the battle as they needed both Engineer and Pyro for most of the battle.

“Dang the kitchen floor is white?” Scout’s voice startled Sniper out of his thoughts, He looked up after drying up the last patch of floor with his foot.

“Huh, I guess it is. How long have I been in here?” He mumbled, pulling back a sleeve to look at his watch, two hours. Sniper groaned, the second day of ceasefire and he’d already spent two hours of it doing chores. “This happens every time”

“Late for something?” Scout opened the fridge and took out a can of bonk with a sticky note on it. Along with, oh no, Heavy’s sandvich. Sniper eyed him worriedly, Scout really had a death wish sometimes.

“Nah, s’just were supposed to spend ceasefire relaxing”

“Huh, happened last time too?” The last part was slightly muffled as he opened the can with his teeth.

“Man, you’re gonna ruin your teeth like that” He winced remembering when he chipped his front tooth a couple years ago. Lucky for him it was only a small chip, barely visible unless you knew it was there, shallow too. When it comes to teeth even a small chip can hurt like hell and he hadn’t been able to drink for most of the day. It was even luckier that he’d avoided getting teeth chipped on the battlefield without dying first, stuff like that was only a matter of time though and he was waiting on that final break.

“Yeah, yeah” After taking his first sip of the cherry flavored drink he seemed instantly more jittery. Sniper chalked it up to the drink though, he seemed almost hesitant. “You have anything planned tomorrow?” Scout asked suddenly, strange he’d never asked, maybe something was wrong.

“Nah, y’alright?”

“No, well-” Scout hesitated again, yeah maybe not wrong but something on his mind “I talked to Medic about fusion and he suggested I should ask you to- ask you about it. No one’s really- I don’t really match with anyone? I know I’m annoying so-” Scout seemed the last person to have insecurities like this, he almost felt honored for Scout to drop his tough guy act. Sniper was surprised he had never thought of it as an act till now, that fact tied a knot in his stomach.

“Sure, I’m not really that experienced when it comes to fusion though. Only did it once really” He recalled it with a wince on his face “I think we’ll do much better than that though” It had been strange for the fusion between Sniper and Demoman to fail after it was shown that mercs with stronger bonds made better fusions. Then a fusion with Engineer failed and he decided that he just didn’t work well with others. They didn’t even try a fusion with Spy, that would have been catastrophic. Which brought him to Medic’s suggestion.

“Speaking of, why did Medic suggest me of all people?”

“Huh, what do you mean?” Scout asked stuck in his own thoughts, of the two of them he thought he would be the one that wouldn’t fit. What with talking his ear off every day.  
“It’s just fusion hasn’t worked for me, I don’t think you were there for it” Sniper rubbed the back of his neck after realizing he might have sounded too negative “But I never tried with you” He added quickly shutting down the thoughts that said him he just wasn’t the fusion type.

“Yeah, I guess there are some things I don’t want other people seeing, yanno?” Scout leaned back against the entryway to the kitchen then paused looking passed his shoulder to the kitchen’s sorry excuse for a table. “Hey did you find those in the kitchen?”

“On the floor” He nodded, he passed to take a closer look. Such a mundane conversation was strange with Scout, it took another moment to pinpoint what needed to be done. The whole conversation seemed down even if they weren’t talking about anything sad. “Hey it’s getting warmer out, If you don’t have anything better to do today I’ve got a dartboard I need to test”

“Sure, mind if I meet you out there?” He grinned down at the shards before adding “I’ve gotta run these down to Hard hat” Sniper sighed before nodding, well whatever those shards were seemed to have boosted Scout’s mood, maybe a cold beer could improve on that. He gathered the stained towels and gave the kitchen a once over before deeming it tidy, dropping them off in the laundry room before leaving for his camper. Then he realized that neither of them actually knew how to play and would most likely be hitting the camper more than the board. It hurt to imagine, he winced as an imaginary dart flew through the net of an open window. It hurt even more to imagine hammering a nail to her side for the board to hang on, no something else would have to be done.

Sniper retrieved the nail and hammer before looking around, a lot of nothing. Maybe there was something nail-able around the side of the base. Wait that’s where the scrumpy stash is, maybe on the other side. Sniper sighed and stopped taking a moment to wonder what he was doing. He didn’t even play darts, well Scout didn’t either but-

“Snipes!” He turned towards Scout’s voice, he waved back when Scout waved. He was smiling but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Right, that’s why. He had a feeling he wasn’t being told the entire story.

“Can’t find a spot for it”

“Oh, It’s a ways away but I think i’ve got the perfect spot”

“Lead the way” He pocketed the nail and grabbed the board from the camper before jogging to catch up. “It’s not too far away is it?”

“Nah we go through the shooting range first though.” Usually the base had an underground training room with mechanical dummies, this new desert base they’d been sent to didn’t. The range itself was outside in a shallow ravine, it didn’t look exactly safe but it was shady for a large portion of the day. After it rained it would even flood near the back where the ravine was roofed and went further down. It made the perfect place to cool off during the scorching temperatures. Scout walked to the very back where the water would have reached the highest then waved him to the side. “Down here, usually it’s filled with water and no one has ever come over here when it wasn’t flooded. Don’t worry it’s not a cave or nothin’ just a crack that meets another crack, small though it’ll catch your jacket if you’re not careful”

And it is. It’s very small and jagad, just when he thinks it’ll get too small it opens up to the other side of the ravine, the ceiling extends for longer but it isn’t completely a cave, at the end of it he sees a small lean-to covered in a blue tarp. It’s a sorry shack but an oasis in a desert, all those times he’d noticed Scouts absence now made sense. Two ice boxes were pushed up against one wall, one was plugged into- wait what.

“Is that plugged into an outlet?”

“Uhhhhh… no” it only took a couple seconds of staring at the squirming Scout before he cracked “Part of the base comes out right here, I think it’s supposed to be for outdoor lights or something? From what I can guess they were gonna put a door here but decided against it”

“This is a score if I ever saw one, crikey you’re lucky mate”

“Only has one outlet so I use it for drinks, the second cooler’s for blankets, there’s another tarp too” Scout opened the box and started laying out the tarp, after that he brought out a fairly clean looking blanket. He supposed it’d be hard to explain why he kept coming back to base with dusty sheats. Sniper went back to finding a good place for the dart board. In the end there was really only one place there was enough space to throw, it would be a bit close but it would be fine as long as they were careful. Besides you had to actually jump to get up to the area the lean-to rested.

“It might get hard to see later in the night”

“Maybe we could put lights up, man with lights it’ll look so much cooler” Sniper started chuckling, when Scout looked his way with a raised eyebrow he gave a genuine grin before speaking.

“This is where you go when you say you’re in teufort getting ladies isn’t it?”

“I-” Scout’s mouth opened then closed with a clack “Just set up the dart board already” Sniper smiled and looked for a good patch of dirt to nail in. “I was wondering” He looked up at Scout “since you’re here, could you explain more about fusion?”

“Yeah” He sighed and sat on the lean-to’s level, facing Scout “However, you need to ask specific questions, I’d make you take the one word test but I’m not the doc.”

“Medic’s never mentioned it to me”

“Nevermind, go on”

“Right” Scout took a breath then blurted “is there any way to see memories?” Sniper started to speak but stopped when he saw how Scout worried his lip and held his hands, anxious, he’d seen more sides of Scout today than he had since he’d first joined BLU.

“No, the connection isn’t quite like that”

“Sorry about bothering you about all this” Scout sighed and sat down, he reached behind him coming back with two beers. Sniper took a moment to put a question into words. It’s hard to think of what he wants to say without spooking him. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything, after all this quieter Scout could be him opening up. He supposed it could wait. Then again, there was one way to go about it and this quietness didn’t really fit the loudmouth.

“Say scout do you know how to dance?”


	3. Summer Showers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like writing sad scout, it's difficult, it hurts me :'(
> 
> If you look hard enough in chapter two I'm pretty sure you can see my cringe in my writing because I hate writing sad Scout.

“Dance? Doesn’t that-”

“No” Sniper interrupted “It can happen accidentally but not if you don’t mean to” Which technically was true so, hypothetically, if they fused it technically wouldn’t be his fault. Sniper winced at his own reasoning. He’d just teach him a little bit so they didn’t trip over each other tomorrow.

“I don’t really know fusion dancing”

“M’ not much of a dancer either” Sniper mumbled under his breath. Well neither of them knew how to dance this was embarrassing. “I guess I can’t blame ya” Gah why’d he bring it up if he couldn’t do it himself? “Wait fusion dancing?”

“Yeah, yanno the dance medic does, don’t you have to do it like that?” Sniper paled

“No way anything goes, I can’t imagine doing whatever he did”

“Yeah” Scout shook his head “sure I can dance then”

“Shit” Sniper can’t help but groan, yeah he’s the only one on the team who can’t dance. Of course Scout would be able to dance. Even demo could dance in his state of constant drunkenness.

“Hey maybe that’s why your fusion didn’t work out before” He mulled with a thoughtful look on his face, Sniper only let out a longer groan out at that.

“What am I supposed to do? My legs just aren’t made for dancing” Sniper let his head thunk back against the dirt wall.

“Hmmm, well if that’s the case why don’t you just stand still and do something with your upper body” He grinned at the pop the cap of his beer made and took a swig before opening Sniper’s for him “I could dance and do some sorta jump over your head then you could grab my hand, like a cartwheel without hands, hold on lemme show you” He put down his drink and stood a good distance away from sniper before running, flipping legs wide in the air and stuck the landing. Sniper stared. “Except on the battlefield I can jump ten times higher”

“I should quit while I'm ahead” Sniper took another gulp of his drink.

“Wait wait wait, okay, I won’t do the cartwheel thing. But one way or another I'm gonna have to jump at you. Maybe we should move on to what you’re gonna do” Sniper seemed to give him a look that said ‘we will not move on to what i’m going to do’ then took yet another drink. Scout winced. “C’mon Snipes it can’t be that bad”

“Fine what do you want me to do” Sniper groaned unhappily.

“Tap ta the beat first, hold on I got a radio around here somewhere” Scout could help but smile as the alcohol bubbled warmly in his chest, Sniper seemed to have a similar reaction since he definitely didn’t wasn’t happy about dancing, maybe if he could get him to loosen up and have fun he wouldn’t be so embarrassed next time. First they needed music and that required the radio, for how few things he had in the lean-to it was a mess. Fortunately that didn’t keep him from finding his little handheld stuffed in the corner of the shack. It was a bit muddy from the last time it rained but that wouldn’t be a problem. “Got a favorite station?” He asked looking back out from under the low hanging roof.

“Not really, anything’s fine”

“Right” Scout messed with the diles a bit till a good paced song came on, words slightly faster than the beat. Before Sniper could chicken out he’d grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to their make-shift dance floor. Tapping his foot to the beat he let Sniper join in embarrassment coloring his face. When he seemed to catch the tune well enough Scout danced away striking a pose for fun. Sniper tilted his hat down over his eyes but Scout had already seen his smile and reached out a hand out to him to dance. Scout was quick to guide when he joined and only stayed with him for a moment to avoid any fumbles. Sniper seemed to appreciate his leniency and reached out daringly to dance together again, Scout was about to grab hold of his hand when Sniper suddenly drew back to hold his palm up to the sky.

“It’s raining”

“Awe man, It was just getting good too” At least it would be a warm rain. Scout held his hand to the sky as well, shivering despite the warmth, the air was humid. He could feel electricity in it as well.  
“Feels like a summer storm, thunder too”

“Just what I was thinking…” He sighed before looking back at the sad looking lean-to “better pack everything up so it stays dry”

“Yeah” Sniper agreed, taking one end of the blanket so it would be easier to fold. The two were right to fold that blanket first as the rain picked up to a pour within a minute. Maybe the next day the waterhole would be deep enough to swim in. Scout’s gaze was caught by the contemplative look on Sniper’s face, maybe he wanted to say something. Suddenly he felt self conscious of his lingering gaze and went back to the ice box to put the blanket and tarp away. It became quiet as he turned the radio off.

“Hey were you around to see Red’s last fusion” Scout asked if only to fill the silence, it could be deafening sometimes “Apparently fusions can have more than two arms” He continued on without stopping when sniper nodded heading towards the crack in the ravine “It was between their Medic and Demoman I think? Everyone seemed pretty unsettled by it. The combination wasn’t used again after that.” Water trickled down the sides of the rock, he’d have to hose down his cleats when they got back “I’m curious about it, in the end it seemed better to just let everyone forget about it.”

“I was surprised” Sniper said after a moment and looked back at him, breaking the short silence. “You read the room well” Scout couldn’t help but draw his eyebrows together at that.

“At the risk of sounding petty i’ll say, no one usually notices when i’m quiet”

“You’d make a good magician” Sniper smirked, Scout could see him better in the light now that they’d left the crevice even if it was only a little better. Before he can ask what he means by that he’s already running through the rain for the overhang beside his camper.”Misdirection” Sniper continued ”Shining a brighter light to make a darker shadow, spies use it too” He tensed but Sniper didn’t notice.  
“Sniper” recognizes the tone he looks back at Scout with that worried expression from before.

“Whatever happens you won’t hate me right? Or tell anyone?” He winces at how childish it sounds “Nevermind it’s stupid” He sighs and crouches by the camper, leaning against it on his toes.

“Was just tellin’ Doc earlier today. You’ve got right to have worries, don’t worry I’m not the type to gossip. No friendship is worth it” Scout looks up when he sees an arm reach down to him “C’mon it’s warmer inside”

Sniper’s camper is pretty much how he expected it to be, not that he had low expectations. It was nice coupled with it’s privacy compared to the other rooms. After all he had his own shower and coffee maker he didn’t have to share with anyone. Not that Scout likes coffee, no way, disgusting.

“Don’t worry about getting anything wet, it’s not like we’re soaked” Sniper opened a cupboard in the wall and pulled out two towels tossing one his way. He starts ruffling his short hair with the towel as soon as he gets it and looks up when he hears the sound of a kettle whistling. “Tea?”

“Yeah, Sure” He grimaces when the cup touches his cold hands, it’s hot but his hands grow used to the heat.

“I forgot to ask what those shards were about” Sniper sits with his tea hanging in his hands facing him from the furthest seat at the camper’s small table. The seats seem to be built into the camper much like the couch and share a cushion pattern.

“Shards? Oh, I broke my plate”

“Your plate? As in your plate your plate?”

“What is it infamous?” Scout asked his interest peaked

“Kind of” Sniper catches the question look on Scout’s face and continues his explanation “Demo used your plate once and you gave the whole table the cold shoulder till dinner ended” Snipped chuckled “Demo was scared you hated him for about a month even though you didn’t act different around him”

“Really?” Scout asked disbelievingly “I was probably just thinking about my family, not having it might’ve reminded me of my family”

“Did your ma give it to you or something?”

“Nah, oldest brother did, Malachi” Scout’s eyes took on a sorrowful glint again “Gave one to all of us, he was a potter. Had his shit together too, he might not have had much at the time but he probably was the best off if you understand what I mean. Out of all of us he was the last one we expected to die first. Yeah, Malachi was great, wise too” Scout smiled at a memory, laughing horsley before continuing “This one time Quinn, Ivan, and Teagan really got in over their heads, like really in over their heads. There were just too many things going on at once, I was little when it happened but I remember that year everything felt crazy. Then everything finally comes crashing down. Ma’s in the hospital from a car crash, nothing too serious. Me and my brother are little so we go home with our friend, everyone thinks we’ve gotten ourselves kidnapped. The three I mentioned before think we’ve been kidnapped by a rival gang so of course, family bloodline, they go to confront them. Our two other brothers are tearing up the neighborhood looking for us, and Malachi” Scout pauses with a smile on his face “He calls on some mysterious favor and gets some guy to stop the fight, they never told me much about that part. Anyway, he calls in a favor, gets the fighting to stop and a week later the gang rivalry dissolves. Just dissolves! Must’ve been some favor to get every member on both sides to stop fighting whenever they see one another. The strangest thing is that as far as we knew he had nothing to do with gangs, He’d always been charismatic”

“Reminds me of a teacher I had back in highschool” Sniper commented before walking to his fridge for a beer. The cap came off with a satisfying pop.

“Yeah?” He asked, watching him walk back over and take a seat.

“Yeah, probably my coolest teacher too. Real mysterious, young though. He knew people, not just any people either, people I’d get contracted to kill when I was first starting off. I stepped off of those jobs pretty quick when I realized it was the same organization contracting me as different people, didn't sit well that they kept the fact hidden. I think I narrowly avoided getting caught up in something a little more complicated than simple assassinations.” Sniper’s eyebrows knit together before adding “Now that I think about it he might’ve been an undercover agent. Government.” Sniper smiled and shook his head.

“Y’think he’s still there?” He asked with his head leaned back against the wall.

“Dunno mate, maybe. It’d be interesting to see him” Sniper takes one last gulp of his tea then rinses it in the sink vowing to clean it later, when he looks back Scout’s focus is captured completely by the window.

“Dude” On the sill is a large tan bird, an owl, with a heart shaped face and dappled plumage. “Dude that’s an owl” The bird shakes herself off before straightening a feather with her beak haughtily.

“Yeah” Sniper snickers at his reaction “Must be dinner soon, Her name’s kitty”

“Kitty? Cause’ she’s so fluffy?” Before Sniper can warn him he’s already reached a hand out to the owl, She turns her head suddenly letting out a hoot before her beak shoots out clipping his hand. Scout jumps back to the couch with a pained hiss “Fuck”

“Cause’ she’s got claws” Sniper answers with a sigh “Let me get you something for that” He disappears into what he presumes to be the bathroom before coming out with a small package filled with bandaids, gauze, and other nicknacks. “Brown bottle’s antiseptic, She didn’t get you so bad so a bandaids work fine” He mumbles something under his breath and winces before opening his eyes with surprise.

“Hey this stuff doesn’t hurt” He paused before looking at the wound closer with a scowl “Is it supposed to bubble?”

“Yeah means the stuff’s working”

“Huh wish my ma used this stuff whenever we got beat up”

“Probably wanted to teach you a lesson” Sniper snickered when Scout’s scowl deepened, he opened his mouth to quip something back but someone knocked on the door first. They exchange a glance before he walks to the door “probably engie calling us out for dinner” It turns out he was right as it was indeed Hard hat who stood outside the door a wide umbrella slung over his head.

“Dinner’s about- oh scout that’s where you’ve been” Engie only paused for a moment to nod in scout’s direction before continuing “Dinner’s about ready you two, we’re having chili relleno and brown rice” Scout’s face twisted unhappily “Not by pyro this time, Spah decided to recreate it” He seemed to relax somewhat.

“Thanks Engie” Sniper added before Hard hat shut the door behind him.

“It’s still raining” He frowned looking up again.

“I should have an umbrella around here somewhere, we can head over now if you want to change before dinner.”

“Sure, just uh” He gave kitty a quick glance before continuing “Don’t be gone long”

“Sure” Sniper repeated back with an amused look on his face “What are you scared of her?” His grin only broadened when Scout adamantly denied the fact. Sniper didn’t take long to change which Scout was thankful for, that owl had seriously been sizing him up for a kill, so that hadn’t given much more time for him to dry off. It made the wind outside cold even though it was warm, he started shivering with a groan. Sniper noticed and was kind enough to hurry up, he didn’t stick around to thank him though and once they made it inside he made a b-line for his room. He only realized he still had one of Sniper’s towels over his shoulders until after he had striped and was drying off with it. He’d have to give it to him before Sniper finished dinner. Scout let himself fall back on his bed with a gentle sigh. Thoughts from the day filled his mind, the fact that Sniper didn’t know how to dance was nice. He suddenly realized he hadn’t hung out with anyone like that with anyone on the team, ever. Jeez maybe it was him who wasn’t trying to make any friends avoiding hanging out like that. Spy’s constant badgering since he’d joined hadn’t done wonders for his worries. Fusion had probably been fine from the very start and it was just Spy being stupid that kept him from fusing. Scout sighed happily, glad to finally be in warm clothing after running through the rain.

Words from their earlier conversation ran through his mind and suddenly he wasn’t nervous about their fusion tomorrow he was excited. Would their fusion have four arms? Three eyes? How tall would they be? He popped up from the bed rejuvenated by happier thoughts. He left his room and made his way to the kitchen. The rain couldn’t get him down, chilli rellenos couldn’t get him down, even Spy couldn’t. The others had often explained that creating a new fusion was like meeting a new person with their own personality. Scout found himself again with his hand hovering over the plate cupboard. He quickly opened and picked a plate at random and sat down with the others, eerily quiet just like the last time he didn’t have his plate.

There had been fusions that hadn’t worked. Personalities that were terrifying. So bad that the team hadn’t even talked much less mentioned them afterwards. The air around Scout seemed to grow even more negative by the second.

“Docktor what do we do?” Heavy whispered worriedly, Soldier was uncannily silent and Pyro uncannily still.

“Vhis is not my specialty” Medic started, before he fell silent with the others and watched as the last person they expected, slowly, leant over the table. Stretching his hand out towards Scout deep in thought and pinched his fingers.

“Yow!” Scout yelped “What the hell was that for Snipes?”

“You were zoning out, I was asking if you think the shooting range will fill up enough to swim in with this much rainwater” Sniper sat back in his seat and started eating again, this time with an annoying Scout filling the gaps of silence, the team sighed almost regretting that silence. Only just. Quiet Scout was unnerving.


	4. Heavy's Cocoa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the friendly banter makes up for the short chapter :)

Sniper woke just as the sky started to brighten, it was not fun. He, much like Scout had the day before, groaned and twisted in his blankets trying to find a better position only to roll right off the bed. For a moment he floundered in a panic tangled in his sheets. By the time he got free he was officially too awake to fall back asleep and decided to get dressed instead. Slowly his thoughts started to process and he remembered the plans they’d made at dinner the night before. If the pool was filled with enough water they would spend the day cooling off by the shooting range. He also remembered that Heavy had offered hot chocolate in the mourning to anyone who woke up in time, it reminded him of summer camp. Another glance at the darkness outside confirmed doubly that he was awake in time, perhaps too early for heavy’s offer. The idea had been that if they started earlier in the day they could have more fun, as scout had insisted. Sniper yawned and pulled on a jacket, his vest fit fine over it even if it wouldn’t help much to keep the cold at bay. To his surprise a small light was on in the kitchen, heavy standing over a large pot that radiated heat. Sniper yawned and sat at the dining table.

“excited for hot chocolate?” Heavy asked leaving the pot to start warming up, it seemed he was still making it “Or perhaps you are excited for today” Sniper almost denied thinking of Scouts request yesterday but then stopped when he realized Heavy didn’t know about that.

“Yeah, I guess you could say so” He let about a breath and thought for a moment because while swimming was fun it wasn’t something he was so excited to lose sleep over. Maybe it was the fusion that he was looking forward to. It was a bit ridiculous to lose sleep over that of all things wasn’t it?

“Before big hunt sisters would wake before the sun rose much like today from excitement, I could not escape them so instead I learned dedushka’s hot chocolate recipe. I could never make it quiet how he did though” Heavy chuckled and shook his head. “I will get you the first cup da?”

“Thanks, I suppose I do have something to look forward to today” When Heavy gave him his cup he held it between both hands basking in it’s warmth with a pleasant expression on his face. A day of swimming sounded nice, even the ground in the ravine was muddy. If they spent the whole day with the team though he wondered when they would have time to fuse. The noise of another chair scraping against the floor started him out of his thoughts, it was even more startling to see the state of the person who sat in it. “Bloody hell Spy it looks like you got run over by a truck” Spy’s usual neat attire was askew, his balaclava tilted on his face with deep bags under his eyes.

“Merci pour le vote de confiance Sniper” Spy muttered running his hands over his face with a sigh “Is the hot chocolate ready?” He asked with a heavy accent.

“Uh yeah, just ask Heavy”

“Merci” All Sniper could do was stare. He’d guessed before that Spy wasn’t a morning person since he’d never seen him when he usually woke up, but he’d never imagined it would be this bad. Then Engie walked into the living room with a similar look to his face and he connected the dots. He’d come in looking like that before after staying up all night to work on some intricate project, he probably convinced Spy to stay up all night working on a weapon that would defend against spies or something along those lines. Sniper didn’t say anything, besides it was funny to see him in a dirty long sleeve rather than his usual suit and button up.

“Mournin’ Sniper” Engie yawned out resting his head against the table as soon as he sat, a small snor a minute later betrayed that he had fallen asleep upon contact.

“Of course he falls asleep the moment he gets here” Spy grumbled now holding his own cup of coco “If only I could fall asleep anywhere like that” Sniper hummed.

“You guys working on something?” Spy gave him a measured look before speaking.

“Yes, we lost track of time. It’s a delicate matter” Sniper nodded and didn’t ask any more questions, after all they couldn’t have Red discover their plans before they were used on the field. Perhaps he should take a photo of Spy while he can. Nah, he’s feeling generous today.

“You should probably uh…” he makes a twisting motion over his face as if correcting his own mask.

“What?” Spy askes befuddled by his motions, Scout passes by in the hall and interrupts him before Sniper can say anything more.

“Yo spy your ski mask is crooked, damn is that a dirty shirt? Who woulda thought.” Scout doesn’t even stay long enough to see Spy’s reaction and is out for his usual morning run as if nothing had happened before they can even say anything.

“Last person I expected to be an early riser” Engie said, his voice muffled by the table while Spy smoldered in his seat.

“Little rabbit must stay fit somehow” Heavy said, sitting down with his own cup of coco.

“I suppose so, say are you three the main early risers?”

“Nah mate, usually Pyro is up a little after Scout. When he gets here that’ll be all the early risers, then we get to watch Demo, Medic and Soldier suffer”

“Isn’t Soldier usually the one to wake everyone up?” Sniper and Heavy paused to exchange a glance. Pyro sat down beside Engineer with a fluffy pair of pink slippers on over his fire suit, he probably still had pajamas on underneath all that.

“Hu huddas Ha-ham urk”

“His alarm clock? You mean to say that we’ve been wakin’ up to Soldier’s alarm clock for the last couple years?!” Hard hat sounded incredulous, Sniper just looked amused, after all they’d known this fact for quite some time. Actually, it almost made too much sense for it to come as a surprise. Pyro only shrugged nonchalantly before leaving the room to get hot cocoa from the kitchen. Spy was startled to see the cup of liquid gold boiling inside his cup when he sat down, he knew better than to ask questions he didn’t want answered though.

“So who do you think ‘ill get up next?” He asked, pulling his vest tighter as the warmth from the cocoa started leaving him.

“Hudda”

“Medic”

“I agree”

“Good morning Demoman” Heavy said, handing him a warm cup before anyone could bet any money.

“Gud mornin’” Demo yawned, he didn’t even seem to realize that they had been betting against him just moments before.

“Say, so all those times Soldier suddenly stopped screaming it wasn’t someone throttling him but rather him throttling his alarm clock?” Engie asked with an amused expression on his face “I suppose the mental image almost makes up for it”

“Ah Hee Hu-heys Hudda”

“Sure Pyro, see you later” The little firebug gave a silly wave before stepping out of the dining room with his warm cup of cocoa in tow. A nice silence followed as they waited for the last of their members to wake up. This was probably the only comfortable silence they’d ever experienced as a team. Then again four of them weren’t there so it didn’t really count. Sniper sighed, thoughts drifting to fusion once again. He wondered if Scout had worries about it, after bringing up red’s mysterious fusion it only made sense to worry.

Thoughts like this followed him for the rest of the morning and breakfast no matter how hard he tried to leave them. When he saw Scout again it only seemed to make them worse. By the time he was heading back to his camper to grab a pair of swim trunks it was apparently enough for Scout to notice.

“Hey, Snipes wait up” Sniper sighed, perhaps with fondness, and looked back with a pause. “Y’alright?” He had a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah” Tilting his hat over his eyes “just worried about nothing, you?”

“Yeah, me too” He looked worried. Sniper was surprised, then he supposed that it was pretty average to get nervous about something they had never done, much less never completed successfully. Sniper couldn’t help but crack a grin at the two of them, he was suddenly sure it would be just fine. Scout loosened up at their shared nervousness “I’ll see you back at the shooting range” and was gone again. Sniper stood outside waiting as he left, then realized he should probably get changed, then wondered why he watched him leave so closely, then thought it better that he not analyze too much and left to change.

When he finally made his way down to the shooting range he wasn’t surprised to see that they’d already started the chicken fights, the current team was Heavy and Soldier versus Medic and Demoman which was in no way fair. Spy, Engineer, and Pyro sat under an umbrella content to watch the others have fun while Scout egged the two teams on. Sniper was the only one with trunks and a shirt on, piss. He tossed his blanket and aviators down and left his hat on. He avoided the splashing well enough till the chicken fight suddenly exploded in a spray of water, someone had finally lost. Lucky for him his hat was waterproofed a long time ago.

“HOW COULD WE LOSE, WE WERE UNSTOPPABLE” Soldier screamed in agony, falling to his knees covered in mud, Heavy looked even worse covered head to toe in it.

“WE HAVE OUR WINNERS” Scout yelled, holding Demo and Medic’s hands up, they were just as muddy as the other two. Sniper only huffed with amusement as another round started up, somehow they convinced Engie to join in.

The afternoon continued like that, crazed chicken fights with Sniper floating comfortably in the background. Lunch and at one point they even played a strange cross between that and charades. It was getting dark by the time everyone finished off with a last game of marco polo. Then everyone was heading back to base for showers and a break while dinner was getting set up. It was only when Sniper was showered and dressed, it was only when he opened his door to see Scout that he remembered once again.

“Hey”

“Hey, mind if I come in?” Scout asked, finally clean of the layers of mud from the temporary pond and looking a bit nervous.

“Sure” Sniper stood back from the door and filled the kettle with water just in case. “Funny how I woke up almost excited for this and now it's all boiled down to nervousness.” He chuckled sheepishly, he didn’t expect Scout to agree.

“Yeah, reminds of this time me and my brother- uh actually” Scout hesitated for and instance then continued “My twin, me and him are always getting into trouble”

“Bloody hell two of you?” He turned the stove off as the kettle began to whistle angrily, Scout snorted before continuing.

“Yeah he was the one who got fake kidnapped with me as well.” He shook his head and stirred his tea absentmindedly “He fell asleep before it started and since he practiced with me I knew all his lines. The teachers mistook me for him, dressed me up, and I went through the whole play without anyone noticing. Me and ma even took a picture and she still doesn’t know it was me” he took a sip of tea before continuing to fill the silence. “The same thing happened a couple years later, I went to his dance class and he went to my baseball meet, which is why I even learned to dance in the first place.”

“All that for a simple parent switch?” Sniper asked with a chuckle

“It was worth it for the looks on my teammates faces when we revealed the prank, the dance teachers didn’t even say anything about our dances being different or anything, pft I probably did better than him”

“Yeah probably” Sniper said, faking seriousness, Scout caught on instantly.

“I was” He insisted with a wine

“Care to prove it?” He asked, amused.

“Care to dance?” Scout snarked, waving the handheld radio in front of Sniper’s face.

“Whatever you say” Sniper huffed with a keen smile on his face, he reached up to tilt his hat over his eyes as he usually did but his hat wasn’t there. Meaning Scout had seen the signature ‘shy smile’ his ma had oogled and therefore embarrassed him from using ever again. Scout didn’t seem to notice his inner dilemma though and tugged him out the door. Good thing he was quick enough to grab the hat before the door closed.

“Round back’s fine right?” Scout asked stubbornly.

“Yeah” He said fiddling with his hands before pulling his hat over his head once again. Scout let him free when he reached the back of the camper and crouched to the ground to set the little radio down. A similar tune rose from it’s speakers and Scout stood again recognizing his nervous energy.

“Just tap to the beat Sniper, I’ve seen you dance before”

“Right” He relaxed deliberately, tapping to the beat, finding soon that he didn’t need to force it. Scout nodded to the beat and closed his eyes, he couldn’t help but watch as he started to move, trapped. Turning around him till his path started towards Sniper. He’d watched just like that earlier that day, he didn’t think once again transfixed. Then everything felt perfectly in place and he moved. Scout still with his eyes closed in concentration opened when they touched, eyes opened to his finding that he was much closer than before.

Then they were fusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff hanger mwahahahaha


	5. The Dragon's Den

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so the story picks up, a longer cliffhanger just for you cookiedough ;D

Spy sighed sliding the last of the plate’s pieces back into place, it was a true miracle that the plate was back together. He’d been shocked to say the least when Engie showed him the pate, he’d been glad that the inventor came to see him when he did as this was definitely a delicate matter. The fact the Scout specifically hadn’t wanted Spy to help had stung but eventually he saw his name written on the bottom of the plate and it started to make sense. After all, Scout’s records had been rather difficult to get a hold of, in fact the name he had on his documents was most likely fake since the name on the bottom of the plate was different. Jeremy, the thought crossed his mind that maybe he shouldn’t look into it however he was just too curious now to stop. Spy looked up from his work and was about to say something to Engie before he stopped. He slept soundly against his desk even if it was midday, one glove fallen on the ground, the other sagging. Spy sighed and covered his teammate with a jacket hooked over one of the many shelves in the garage. He was about to leave him at that but a glimmer of something on his gloved arm caught his eye. He realized what it was and pulled away only but a second too late, he woke up grabbing Spy’s wrist with a chilling glare on his face.

“That wasn’t in your file” Spy said dumbly. It seemed his whole persona was off kilter since the day before.

“Yeah no shit”

“My intent was not malicious” Engie let go of his wrist “I was… curious”

“That sounds about the most honest thing I’ve ever heard you say”

“Thank you” Spy ran a hand over his wrist annoyed that he had been caught, even if there wasn’t much to catch him for.

“Oh before you go, we’ve talked about it before but let me know if you’re willing to work on something for the field” Spy paused with his back to the other, he looked back for a moment to tip his head before he cloaked and left the garage. This reminded him painfully that there were things he just didn’t know about Engineer. Even if they were, dare he say, friends.

That wasn’t important though, he had some things to look into. He would do some looking into Scout but that was a sensitive matter, it would take time. The origins of fusion were easier to look into, besides he had a feeling he was on the verge of finding something. Looking into fusion took some time of course, he’d instantly caught on to Ms. Pauling’s words. Human fusion. Which meant something that wasn’t a human had fused before. He had assumed it was animals at first but as time went on he realized that there were one too many secrets surrounding it’s discovery. It surprised him that he hadn’t looked into it sooner.

Spy looked down at his watch and tsked, it wouldn’t do to be late. Scout’s broken dish had horrible timing, he would’ve preferred to be fully rested for this. He grumbled something intangible under his breath as he entered his room, quick to wash his face and get dressed. He didn’t like the person he was meeting, it took every shred of his being to converse politically with her. It had taken a while to find her too, not that she was important, she was one in a million scientists working for Mann Co. but he supposed that might’ve been the reason she was so hard to find. One mole worthy scientist in a million devoted employees. Their devotion was annoying sometimes. He scrunched his nose and pulled his suit down stiffly, then retrieved his car keys. When he left the building he was just nearing on tardy and only took a quick look around before bending down to the ground, he let his hands find the dust covered keypad and type in it’s sequence before opening his eyes once again and standing. He felt prideful the moment he saw her, after all this wasn’t just any car, this was a car he repaired himself. Well not entirely, other things were added but much more competent people. His keys beeped twice before the car rolled up the ramp by itself stopping when it was on solid ground. The hanger slowly closed once again. Scout was right but he didn’t need to know that. Spy looked up at the sound of a door slamming, from Sniper’s camper? Perhaps he should- He looked down at his watch and swore quietly, no this was more important, that woman would tear him apart if he was late. The car’s door closed with a satisfying click before he stepped on the gas.

The only good thing about having a base this far out in the desert was the fact that you could gun it whenever you were late, Spy took full advantage of that fact only slowing down when he was right on top of the town. He let out an irritated sigh when he saw her tapping her foot impatiently outside their meeting location. The nerve of that woman.

“Doctor Springfield” He said with a strained smile when he finally parked to car and greeted her

“You’re late by” She looked at a watch on her wrist “One minute and fiftyeight seconds, that’s nearly two minutes”

“Yes” He ignored her tone with great difficulty “Have you gathered the information I requested of you?”

“Let’s see, have you gathered the materials I requested of you? This is an exchange after all” She was a beauty but by god she was a double edged sword, her looks might kill but her attitude could murder.

“I thought we agreed you would be giving me my information first Doctor”

“We agreed on no such thing, my materials if you please”

“Of course” His voice was only getting more strained, he pulled a small hard drive from an inner suit pocket and pushed it into her open and waiting palm with as much malice as he could, all the while smiling amiably.

“Thank you” She said through gritted teeth “I assume you have the rest in the car and will help them to my lab like a gentleman?”

“Indeed” He stiffly walked to the trunk of the car and retrieved a small crate with a large red ‘FRAGILE’ stamp on it’s side, grinding his teeth as he followed the witch back to her dirty dust covered layer. Well maybe it wasn’t as dust covered as last time. It was still dirty though, ‘cup of noodles’ bowls were stacked next to moldy petri dishes of god knows what. Spy looked down at the basement distastefully because that was exactly what it was, a basement studio. Studio implied that it was well lit and airy like a studio, it wasn’t. It was a single medium sized room with a window that would flood the room if left open during a storm. He didn’t say anything though should he induce the wrath of the dragon so innocently sitting at her desk.

“Set it here, and be careful, it says fragile for a reason” Spy was the last person to be lectured about being careful.

“So tell me a story” Spy said nonchalantly as he always did when asking for information from her, Springfield looked up with a defiant look in her eyes but started talking anyways.

“Mann Co. has it’s fingers everywhere, yes yes I know you already know this let me speak” She glared at him pointedly before continuing “Mann Co. has it’s fingers everywhere, though it leaves small towns alone for the most part. Unless it has something important in it that is. There was a certain town on their radar for a while, home to more than a couple anomalies. That’s a very loose term by the way, can mean anything from ‘natural disasters’ to signals to legends and lore, anything really that could catch their eye. They only approached this town when the anomalies stopped suddenly. After all Mann Co. has discovered immortality, what more could they possibly gain. This also just so happens to coincide with the first fusion experiments. This is also when they discovered an element known as Gem which was the basis for all the experiments. Gem was found deep in the earth’s core, past possible drilling points. My guess is that they found a cave in beach city that went further than one could normally reach. Before I explain any more let me show you this material, it’s the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen.” Springfields had a grin on her face that looked too much like Medic’s for comfort. Yet all she pulled out of the crate was a series of sturdy black boxes. She chose one pressing her fingerprint to the top of the box before it opened to reveal a light blue shard, before he could observe it for long she had thrown it carelessly, almost like a hot potato, into a square glass case. She was quick to close the lid and turn it on before saying anything further.

“It’s the strangest phenomenon I have ever bared eyes to” She whispered eyes glued to the glass, Spy moved to say something but his words were lost as the shard slowly transformed. A hand clawed at the glass, a strange unearthly hue to it.

“Mon dieu”

“There’s millions of them in the earth’s core” She continued as the hand left claw marks against the glass, turning into a fist it started hitting against the glass, it sent a chill down Spy’s spine “This is what they injected you with, grounded up into a liquid of course. It went under the guise of surgery but I’m sure you noticed the four shots they gave you that definitely weren’t anesthetic.” She didn’t wait for him to respond “You can’t just use any one of these shards either, it has to react to you positively in physical form, there’s a rumor going around that there’s one for every human. Interesting really, I’m sure it’s not the case but if you are injected with two gem shards they will try to fuse within you. If you don’t give the shard a twenty four hour rest period to get absorbed by your body I’m sure they would try to fuse with any nearby shards, excruciating really.” The hand seemed to watch him as he drew closer to the case, unnerving.

“That’s not the only thing” she continued “I have reason to believe that humans were not the only sentient creatures on this planet. These a shards or gems, imagine what a creature would look like emerging from a fully formed gem”

“So dawn of the lizardmen?” Spy asked with a disbelieving scoff “Why should I trust this”

“You asked for answers and I gave them to you” Springfields snarked “Go to Beach city yourself if you must have evidence. I suggest you bring your friends too though, whatever civilization was about to start up was crushed and destroyed by something dangerous.”

“Whatever you say Doctor, I don’t have time to look into fairy tales” Spy brushed off his suit disdainfully “I leave you to your experiments”

“Don’t come to me next time you need information” The woman uttered, their backs turned to each other. Spy’s mouth went dry, ah he’d struck a nerve.

“Whatever you say Laura” Spy walked up the stairs at a brisk pace, not running away mind you. Definitely not. The door closing behind him with a loud hiss before the sound of something big and breakable crashed against the door behind him. He paled. Perhaps he should not have used her name if it had not been given to him, habits die hard though. He didn’t stick around any longer and walked quickly to his car, not retreating, definitely not. It got harder to deny the fact though as the dragon burst from her den, his car’s wheel squealing against the pavement as he escaped.

“Mon Dieu, that woman” He let out a long breath he didn’t realize he was holding as the base came into view. He squinted his eyes as he watched a tall figure run towards the shooting range, about as tall as sniper. He couldn’t think of a reason for him to run though. He shook his head and told himself to forget about it. Besides he had some calls to make. Hopefully he could get some more information on Scout, perhaps he could uncover a little more information that he currently had. Spy slid out of the seat of his car with a nod to his own thoughts and looked around before opening the hanger and watching it drive itself away. Dinner would be called soon, making some calls after dinner was a possibility as well. His plans were blown off course though when he spotted Medic about to knock on his door.

“Docteur” Spy said, opening his cigarette case with a click, his eyebrows furrowed when Medic jumped, he hadn’t even be tryin to sneak up on him.

“Ah Spy, I have something to talk to you about” Spy blew a puff of smoke from his nose and moved to unlock his door.

“Let us continue this conversation inside”

“Of course” Medic entered as Spy closed and locked the door.

“So, I take it you have discovered an interesting piece of information?”

“Indeed” He fidgeted before continuing “I have noticed similarities that are far too uncanny, separately they could be seen as coincidences but together there are far too many to be a coincidence, between red and blue that is. It’s not just similarities in performance and stature either. The most notable is the Scouts, they’re identical. Not only that but I’ve heard the Scout on the other team talk, well yell as he killed be, about impressing Ms. Pauling.” Now that was the interesting part wasn’t it? How did Ms. Pauling know both teams? “I would suspect cloning but the scouts are the only identical teammates, the rest just have similar silhouettes” Spy snuffed out his cigarette. Purple was a combination of red and blue but that was far too simple a way of looking at it wasn’t it? They wouldn’t make it that obvious would they?

“You have impeccable timing, I myself was just looking into Scout’s files. They’re just as tight locked as any spy’s, I was able to get a first name just recently, if that even is his name. It could still be cloning though. There is a possibility he volunteered for some strange experiment.” Medic scoffed knowingly.

“He really should make a habit of reading the fine print”

“Indeed” Spy answered again, this time with a smirk on his face “Let me know you find anything more worth mentioning, I’d like to avoid looking into Ms. Pauling but I will look into Mann Co. and it’s investments in this unending war of ours”

“Of course, Danke” Medic ruffled his short speckled hair with a short sigh “I mentioned this to Sniper before talking to you, he’s not the talkative type though and I didn’t really say much, suppose he’d probably help if you or I ever asked. Gute nacht” The doctor left him alone with his thoughts, he probably would spend dinner in his medbay if that was the case. What an eventful day. If only he knew which Scout was the clone, his counterpart might find this interesting even if they despised each other. He may not like his fellow spies but they were definitely useful to stay in contact with. His life in france proved often that it was more useful to have contacts than none.

France, Spy let another puff of smoke fall from his lips as his thoughts sifted through his memories. He wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told him he would find himself undying with invisibility cloaks and dead ringers. Such was life back then, one only had the ability to think of the present at that time.

“Perhaps I should get a cat to balance out the birds” Spy snickered and put out his cig with a huff, no he wasn’t the type to do that despite what his teammates thought. Speaking of them, it was about time for dinner. He could hear the familiar sound of soldier screaming about, something, as per usual.

“Mon dieu, What have I gotten myself into”


	6. A Spanish Soap Opera

It felt like a blanket. A warmth surrounding him as they became one. Scout let the blanket envelop him holding it as if it were a lifeline. He closed his hands around clumps of the blanket, it reminded him of rainy days inside with the heater on. Then the warmth moved, less tangible than he’d realized, holding him back.

‘Sniper?’ He asked, he wouldn’t pull away from the hug though it was too comfortable and he was too stubborn to.

‘I guess it worked then, I didn’t expect it to- it didn’t feel like this last time. I think that’s a good thing? I’m not sure’

‘Yeah, you sound different’ Scout replied hesitantly, of course Sniper could feel it.

‘What’s wrong? Did I think something weird?’

‘No, I guess you think more than you talk. Does that make sense?’

‘Yeah, you talk more than you think’ Sniper seemed to do the emotional equivalent to covering his mouth with a gasp, Scout brooded but couldn’t keep his true reaction from shining through. ‘Well this is new’ Sniper thought ‘it’s how I’d imagine I’d be as a spirit’ Scout’s initial thoughts were cut off by an overwhelming feeling of curiosity. ‘Curious mate?’ Sniper thought inquisitive.

‘Dude we got your tan’

‘I have a tan?’ Sniper could already feel a wave of sarcasm coming his way. It was cut off by an even stronger wave of curiosity, a shared feeling. They looked down at their feet and assessed what they were wearing. Boots reached just below where scout’s socks would have been, pants tucked into them, grey jeans. Not the material scout’s pants were. Scout’s belt and wraps, Sniper’s shirt with it’s rolled up sleeves. Mostly Sniper’s clothing, no vest though. It looked more simplistic that way and resembled what Scout wore in that sense. They stood up together and found that they were just about Sniper’s height, in fact maybe a bit taller.

‘Mirror’ Sniper thought and he couldn’t help but agree. Everything clicked into place and they walked, walked around the camper. They peaked to see if anyone was watching, then dashed inside. they paused a moment in front of the bathroom, they needed to see, so opened the door and found two pairs of eyes staring back at him. Two pairs.

“Holy shit” a hand drifted to his face before he backed up straight into the wall of his, Sniper’s, camper. This would be confusing, refer to each other in the third person and the fusion in first, right. Th- He could do that.

‘Sniper we’ve got four freakin’ eyes’

‘I noticed, where did the boots come from?’

‘I thought they were yours?’

‘Mine don’t reach as high, I guess fusion likes to warp clothing too, do you think our weapons would fuse if we held them together?’

‘That would be awesome’ Their thoughts both quieted for a moment before starting again ‘why don’t we just go check it out now, there are extra guns in the shooting range right?’ The fusion nodded to himself in mutual decision, It would be best if he avoided getting caught. He peaked through a crack in the door before retrieving Sniper’s aviators from the table before running across the desert at a dead sprint. Only when he had his back pressed against the wall of the storage room did he take a long deep breath.

“Hu Hurr Oo”

“aAHhHHahahaha- Pyro I can explain” He jumped turning quickly to the firebug’s direction, Pyro only stared, and stared. Then his stare got really intense. He couldn’t tell if it was a glare or not. It didn’t seem like a glare. The fusion gulped. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his glare grew only hotter, Pyro raised his hands- he flinched- and slowly brought his two pointer fingers together side by side.

“Oh… Uh yes I’m a fusion” Pyro clapped his hands together happily and started blubbering, too fast to make out, pulling weapons from Scout’s and Sniper’s lockers handing them to the fusion like a mother getting her child ready for school, all the while still mumbling happily. Pyro said something more before patting Him on the shoulder and leaving the shooting range with a skip in his step.

“What just happened?” He blinked down at the weapons in his arms before setting a few down gingerly, none of the weapons fused. “Suppose that’s out of the question then” He grumbled, well he could still test his skills right?

‘Let's try some of mine first’ Scout’s thoughts bounced off Sniper giddy.

‘Alright, In that case let’s try the pistol first, I want to see how accurate we are with single shots’ He loaded the weapon and let himself fall into a natural stance, the best way to go about this when you first started off was letting your instincts do most of the shooting. Automatically a fusion’s body found a middle ground, usually the separate minds in said fusion were slow on the uptake. He let out a breath, pulled the trigger, then shot three times from one target to the next. He put down the weapon with a whistle.

‘I guess I do the accuracy and you do the speed, I thought we were only gonna hit one target?’ Sniper thought looking down at the gun with a discerning eye.

‘Speed is key, they’re not gonna go down in one hit though, with how accurate we are there are always counter balances’ He looked down at the scatter gun next, it felt strange in his arms, too small to rest against him properly, too big to balance in his hands the way he liked ‘let’s try something else’ Scout thought before Sniper could say anything, the next weapon that caught their eye was Sniper’s bow. He drew it experimentally before nodding satisfied, yeah this felt close, not perfect but close.

‘Next time we should fuse with the weapons on, I have a feeling we’ll find what we’re looking for’ Sniper felt a wave of amusement come from Scout’s end ‘what?’

‘Nothing’ came the other’s short reply

‘Alright what is it’

‘Well this one time-’ A memory flooded Sniper’s mind, not his own. A woman with dark hair sat in front of a television, Scout’s mother his mind supplied, she was watching something. A spanish drama? His eyes were glued to the screen.

“I heard you were looking for something?” The man asked whispering lowly in the woman’s ear

“Yes, I heard-” the two paused as voices echoed from somewhere off the screen

“Next time come to me first, I have a feeling we could both find what we’re looking for” The memory ended with the two actor’s pushed up against one another slobbering over each other. The fusion’s face turned bright red from embarrassment and bit back a smile from amusement. Sniper couldn’t seem to form any thoughts and instead went stubbornly silent.

‘Snipes’ Scout laughed again, unable to form sentences.

‘Damn mongrel’

‘Sniper I- haha no wait I’m sorry, Snipes’ Scout begged, the fusion bit back another wave of laughter. He started putting away the weapons irritably. Trying to keep the side of his mouth twitching upwards from smiling. Slowly they felt themselves naturally unfuse and suddenly two people were in the place of one. Scout found himself in the same position that they fused in, Sniper’s hands on his waist, though this time Sniper was blushing profusely. His gaze caught on him as he fell into another fit of laughter, Scout looked away before he noticed and pulled away from his grip. Haha that was weird. Slightly hysterical in his head he coughed awkwardly.

“Uh well, I think I’m gonna go see if there’s any leftover cocoa in the base”

“Right” Sniper didn’t seem to catch on to his awkwardness “I’ll see you”

“Yeah” Scout didn’t stick around any longer, even if it was an abrupt departure, even if it was painfully obvious that he was fleeing. Fleeing from what? Scout took a breath as he entered the base heading directly for his room. He needed to call someone, ideally Malachi, but Malachi was dead. Scout collapsed on his bed with a loud thump and groaned. None of his brothers were really the type to talk to about this, not that there was really much to talk about, nope nothing at all. He rolled onto his back and glared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t really contact his twin, Quinn was a possibility but he might insist he- he probably wouldn’t really listen. Scout dragged a hand over his face then paused, what he really wanted to do right now was call someone. He could think about it when he got to the pay phone.

Scout stood up from the bed and quickly gathered what he’d need for a run through the desert before tripping on a shirt and practically falling out of his room. He took a breath before closing the door delicately and bumping straight into heavy. Scout yelped and took a couple steps back, Heavy raised an eyebrow.

“Little rabbit in a hurry?” He asked before Scout could escape

“Yeah just heading to the payphone” He laughed trying to dodge past his teammate

“Atch” Heavy shook his head as Scout dodged past, too fast for him to catch. Scout looked back and waved apologetically before running out the door.

The run wasn’t long, it only took him little less than ten minutes but it was hot and felt like longer and by the time he reached the phone he wished he had walked, and that was before he realized he’d forgotten to fill his water bottle the last time he left. The call box was a shabby thing, nothing to guard you from the sun, he pulled the phone from it’s spot and paused above the dial box. Who would he call, why was he even calling he had nothing to call about. Scout bit his lip at the blatant mental lie. He really wished he could talk to Malachi right now. He doubted Ivan could help since he was just the third eldest, Teagan, nah Teagan was out of the question, Chase could be a possibility. Scout fished through his wallet for some coins and his photo. He flipped it over once he found it and was greeted with the faded phone numbers that belonged to Chase, this might not be his phone number anymore. The phone rang.

“Hello hello?”

“Hey Chase it’s Jeremy”

“Jeremy! Is Jean with you?”

“Oh, no he’s not” The line went quiet for a while while Scout struggled to put his thoughts to words “Hey Chase, there’s this coworker” he hesitated before starting again “and I keep getting self conscious every time I stare”

“Well then don’t stare, it’s rude to stare anyway. Is this coworker ugly or something?”

“Dude no, Chase-”

“Well you sound like you probably wouldn’t want to hear what I think, just think about why you’re staring on your own for a while, yeah?”

“Chase, what-”

“Hold on, I gotta go, Lily’s getting home any second now and I promised I would vacuum, call me again if you need anymore advice okay?”

“Yeah, alright” The line goes dead and Scout let out a frustrated sigh, some help he is, and after he ran all this way. At this point it would be more counter productive to call anyone else though. Think about it on his own. Right. He glares down at his empty water bottle before

The run to base isn’t too bad, but by the end of it Scout can feel a sunburn on his back and his face. The doc probably had something to treat his burns, he peaked at the living room like he usually did before heading to the doc’s. Usually he would stop and refill his water bottle but something for his burns had overridden that.

The doc’s was far away from everything else so you couldn’t hear the screams of his victims, Scout shuddered, and so Medic could have his privacy. He gingerly opened the doors hoping that nothing was strapped to the torturing device he liked to call his operating table. It was cool inside, away from the blistering heat, the infirmary was even more so. He looked around for a moment before knocking on Medic’s door, out of convenience the doc had his own room there. He pressed an ear to the door but couldn’t hear anything, no one seemed to be in the infirmary either. He almost considered it good luck but his sunburn was only getting more uncomfortable by the second.

“Guess no one’s home” He winced as he turned, fabric tearing into his back, at least that’s what it felt like. Gingerly he took off his shirt and headed for the showers, He wondered what his brothers would think if it was a twenty minute run to the phone and back just for one five minute phone call. He hissed as cold water fell from the faucet. He knew they had their own lives and all that but they could at least ask when he would call again. Scout swore as soap stung his eye, he didn’t stick around longer. He swore again when he forgot the burns on his face and back. Chase hadn’t given him much to go on but he could do what he asked. The problem was he didn’t need to think, he’d felt this in middle school, even elementary school. He wasn’t dumb, he knew how to identify a crush when he got one.

“Fuck” Scout sat on the floor of the shower room and wrapped his towel around himself. He’d never gotten a crush on a guy, well that was a lie, but it hadn’t been a person he worked with. He had never been against the idea but a few of his brothers definitely had. A few of his friends back in Boston too. He jumped at the sound of knocking from the front of the room.

“Hey laddie, you in there?” Demoman.

“Uh, yeah?”

“The lassie’s back again with an announcement, best get dressed we’re waitin’ on you and a couple other people”

“Right” Scout gathered his clothing as soon as he heard Demo’s footsteps recede. He caught a glimpse of the others as he headed to his room to change, everyone was in the ‘war room’ dubbed that by Soldier when they first found it. He focused his thoughts back on changing and closed his door quickly. Eventually he found a shirt without stains on it and was heading back to the war room again, Someone bumped into him in a rush and then everyone was there and seated. Whatever was happening was serious, he noted, another rare bout of silence filled the room.

“Something has happened, something that even I have not gotten word of” Spy stated, snuffing out a cigarette on the table. The mercenaries exchanged glances, while Spy may be self important and cocky at times there was reason behind it, he usually did catch wind of things before they happened.

“Yes, you’re right.” Ms. Pauling took in a measured breath before continuing “Blustarch and Redmond Mann have-


	7. Happy Trails

“Blustarch and Redmond Mann have gone into hiding” Ms. Pauling took a moment to look at them “The administrator is missing” again letting them take everything in “and for once, I have no idea, no clue, as to what is going on” She was in shambles, he should have seen it sooner “I myself am going into hiding, your contracts are still active, however you may tell your families about what you’ve been through. I don’t know why but the administrator is letting you do whatever you want for the time being, she either has a plan or everything is going to shit. Consider this a grim holiday off, be careful, bring your weapons with you I have no idea what they could be hiding from.” Ms. Pauling stood, a distraught expression on her face “Oh and Scout you have a phone call” Then she left the room, a small box filled with phones was left beside the door before the two disappeared.

“Do you think it’ll be alright to leave the states?” Sniper asked after fishing his cell out of the pile “I’d like to but this sounds pretty serious, maybe I’ll just explore for a while”

“Aye, i’d rather play it safe” Demo answered, blowing some dust off a beaten and cracked phone, it didn’t look like it would even work “I might go see the grand canyon, it’s nearby isn’t it?”

“It’s in Arizona, a whole state away, if you drove non stop it might take you five to six hours, I’m not familiar with the trip though, you may run into traffic.” Engie said distractedly, squinting at a strange contraption, most likely a phone since it came from the phone box “Dag nabbit I think they busted mine”

“Is that even a vone?” Medic asked skeptically

“Oh it’s better than a phone” Engie said proudly “It can reach further than any of those old things and can get a clear signal with satellites, i've had a couple good conversations with a- actually, I’m not sure if she even is an astronaut. I don’t think astronauts are aloud to drink alcohol” 

“It’s very clunky, Demo the sierras are in that direction vould you mind if I tagged along?”

“Nah, the more the merrier. What about you Heavy?”

“I would also like to visit the Sierras, could I join you?”

“Aye-” Demo paused as Scout entered the room again looking worse for wear, whoever was on the line probably told him something he didn’t like “Yeah you can join us- Scout, you alright laddie?”  
“Uh yeah, just my dad, anyone heading back east? I need a ride if I’m gonna avoid him properly”

“I could” Sniper offered “got nothing better to do anyways”

“Ah duhduh eel hai, ah ee hu-hah whe-he hu ha da?” Pyro asked looking up from his own phone, trademark burns covered it’s surface, he was right, it didn’t feel right just leaving the place they’d lived in for the past five years. The only hope they could have was that one day they might have to come back, the atmosphere became sombre. Spy snuffed out his cigarette with a frown on his face.

“I’ll admit I do feel similarly, however, we will see each other again. Even if we never come back here we will reunite, this is not the end of the world” He stood and slid his cigarette tin back into his inner jacket pocket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a vacation to enjoy” The door closed behind him with a soft click and murmurs came from the room once more. Spy glanced down at his watch then up in the direction Ms. Pauling had walked towards. There was no way to follow her now, she was probably gone. The doctor had said not to come to her next time he needed information but perhaps she would come with him on the premise of more experimentation. Her curiosity rivaled even his own. He might even be able to convince her to tell him about Mann Co.’s advancements on cloning. Hopefully that damned monster wouldn’t punch first and ask questions later this time. He grimaced, at the time he’d started work with the bruise and therefore respawned with it for the rest of the day, what a hassle.  
Spy shivered as he left the base, his key flashed yellow as his car once again left it’s hanger, the night was cold as expected in the desert. He couldn’t help but feel at least a little disappointed, after all for the longest time he hadn’t been one to stay in a single place for an extended period. His time in Teufort had been unique. As soon as he got in the car he turned the heat on, not long enough to miss the cold nights. He’d never been one to have many possessions despite his image, everything he wanted to bring with him he wore, everything else could be replaced. He sighed as the car started and relaxed into the seat, he wasn’t the type of spy to keep anything sensitive nearby.

Now, the only thing left to do was convince that damn woman to come with him since he didn’t have anything better to do. Most of his contacts were probably dead anyways. Spy yawned as the lights of the town came into view. If he got there fast enough he might not have to wake her up and face retribution. Spy eased up on the gas as the city drew closer pulling into the same space as before when he reached the doctor’s neighborhood. 

Spy had never expected to find a company scientist in Teufort, much less a dragon. At first it had been hard to decide on whether to call her that or a witch. Then she drank a bottle of corn starch and made the decision for him, he had to get a new suit after that one. He winced when his car door closed a little too loudly, then scolded himself for wincing. 

The lock was easy to pick, Springfields had been making an honest effort lately to keep him from breaking in, it was laughable really, nothing could keep him out. Spy paused when he heard shuffling downstairs, he froze, instantly on guard. Sounds of a struggle. He left the door ajar behind him in case he needed to make a quick escape and started down the stairs. There was a quiet crash, he descended the last stairs quickly and faced its source.

There in the center of the room was Springfields, gasping and struggling on the ground with her back to him, no one in the room. He quickly looked around just in case before coming to her aid.

“Doctor are you-” Spy started, he didn’t stare for long and was quick to pry the strange blue hand from her throat, she coughed trying to get her breath under control, the glass case from before was now shattered on the floor.

“Spy what are you doing here?” her voice more raspy than usual and apparently too shocked to get into an argument with him, or perhaps she didn’t realize he had broken into her house once again.

“One moment I left the door open” He murmured distractedly. Shoving the hand into the closest box and setting a pile of books on top, he walked back upstairs and locked the door, when he came back down again the doctor was standing in the door of her fridge, he nodded when she held green can labeled Gini.

“I suppose I could call a truce for today”

“Much appreciated” He replied, their cans popped simultaneously. “They’ve gone into hiding, the Mann brothers that is. Your theory happens to be my first lead”  
“So it is” She said with a sigh “You want me to join you”

“Yes”

“I don’t really have much for me here any way” Springfields sighed and looked around the flat sadly “I suppose you don’t really have much after leaving Mann Co.”  
“Non, I guess not. I do wonder how you keep getting information from them”

“A secret makes a woman, woman”

“You and your quotes” Spy muttered

“Well I’ve got a couple things to pack up, I still need to perfect a way to poof these guys but my current method should work fine. Could you get that hand out?” Springfields started shuffling through some boxes while Spy wrangled the strange blue hand. He watched as she brought out a strange contraption, two sticks resembling lightning rods were in her hands, wires attached them to the contraption. She turned it on and waved the two rods on either side of the hand, before long a loud zapping sound came from the tips of the rods, small flecks of light sparked at it’s hilt as a blue beam shone from one rod to the other, the hand poofed leaving a small blue shard in its place.

“Exactly how dangerous was that just now?” Spy asked with an annoyed tone.

“Jeez it wasn’t actual lightning, it was only plasma” The way she said it didn’t make it sound that much safer though. “I have a feeling it would work better if I made it into a single beam and let the gas funnel off, I was hoping for more of a static look” She frowned at the two rods after placing them back on the table. “I think I’m aiming for the wrong type of weapon, I’ll just have to start from scratch, this version would look more like a lightsaber” 

“I should probably stop asking questions I don’t want the answers to”

“Probably, I don’t have much I want to bring with me, I’ll just adjust the beam into a knife and we can be on our way” He sat on the stairs as she packed, after all she would probably yell at him if he touched anything “perhaps instead I should use the plasma spark at it’s tip like a taser, it would be damaging to the eyes though and loud” Dr. Springfields continued to babble on as if he wasn’t even there until the packing was done, at that point he had already started helping her bring the boxes up, she had hardly noticed.

“Why are you bringing so much?” Spy closed his trunk and locked it as he talked.

“Well I have a lab up in Delmarva and Pennsylvania, that is before the state changed its name to Hershey”

“So I’m essentially moving you?” He asked gritting his teeth, ah by the end of this he wouldn’t have any teeth to grit.

“Yes” She said with a threatening smile, a chill ran down his spine. No, by the end of this he wouldn’t even have a body to spite her with. “We’ll take route 84 until we reach Springer then we’ll start following route 412 till we reach Boise City. The ride to Springer shouldn’t take too long, I know a hotel there, it’s not too shabby”

“I despise road trips, exactly how shabby is this Hotel of yours?”

“It’s called Oasis, there’s a bar just down the street, then again the whole town is kinda just a single street, anyway it’ll be fine” Springfields yawned and stretched out resting her feet in the dashboard, Spy cough himself before he could reprimand her and settled on fuming in his seat. For his vacation Spy would be stuck in close contact with someone who bothered him more than he bothered them for over a week.

Hopefully the hotel wasn’t too bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I'm using a little excuse for whatever technology they use, due to the world of tf2 progressing in technology at a different pace than the real world I'm kind of letting anything go, it's a poor excuse but it makes so much sense at the same time! This way I don't have to make a fuss over smart phones and stuff :D


	8. La Mala Hora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! :D
> 
> Also we just reached 20k words :O

Sniper groaned and slowly opened his eyes, sunlight hit his face and he winced quickly rubbing the sand from his eyes. Scout laid peacefully on the couch yet to be woken by the morning rays. He grumbled and stood up, shivering as he pulled the curtains closed again and headed outside to greet the day. Scout must’ve opened them in the night, the stars were rather pretty out in this nowhere town. The morning still wasn’t completely gone from the sky, a few birds thought so too. It was rather nice Sniper mulled wrapping his jacket closer. If they left within a couple hours they could make it to Oklahoma by six. He grumbled then headed back inside to leave a sticky note for Scout. With his luck he’d wake up while he was away. The place they parked his van was a good walk away from the town’s other building and led directly to the freeway, a direct shot through town. It wasn’t too long a walk to a small cafe he’d seen the day before, Elida’s, small but cozy. It seemed more of a lunch place than a breakfast place at first glance, even if the sign said Elida’s Cafe, but when he entered he could recognize the unmistakable scent of ham and eggs. He didn’t have to wait long for the order, just as it started getting busy too.

Scout was sitting on the picnic table outside when he came back, he handed him one of the take out boxes before getting silverware from the camper and digging in. It would have been a quiet morning.

“What the fuck is that” Scout stared at the ground several feet behind him, he turned to face whatever it was. A hand, a foot? Sniper watched as it dragged itself closer. It looked like one of Medic’s monstrous experiments. Bread had become sentient without a brain or heart, so why couldn’t individual limbs? “Sniper back up dude, it’s crawling this way” He snapped out of it only to get frozen once again by the sight of something even worse.

“Bloody hell” Sniper stumbled from the table and went to Scout’s side putting the table between them and the monster, the monster between them and the camper. He jumped when he felt something on his leg. Another hand held on to his foot climbing ever higher, he kicked the thing off before backing up. It crawled back to the abomination, glowing as it... fused? No one had ever glowed when fusing before.

“Snipes do you have any weapons on you?”

"No, and you?”

“Well yeah but-” The creature suddenly honed in on Scout, the three of them froze waiting for someone to make the first move. It let out a distorted scream before running forward, Scout ran to the left a flash of metal in his hands as he sliced past it’s side, Sniper ran to his opposite while the thing was distracted.

“Scout get it away from here I’ll start the camper” Scout’s answer was lost under the screams of the being, the camper rumbled. It was only a moment longer before Scout jumped into the camper’s passenger seat and they were speeding down the highway once again. It took longer for the both of them to relax again, sniper’s anxieties came crashing back once again though when he heard the clinking sound of a butterfly knife. When he looked over only Scout sat next to him, no spy to be found, in his hands a knife resembling Spy’s.

“Yeah I know, like I said not much of a weapon.”

“So that time Spy disguised as you?”

“Yeah, if they had known I actually could use his butterfly knife they probably would have caught him. It’s also why I have handwraps, unlike Spy I don’t have gloves in my uniform.” Scout seemed to say the last part almost- was that a pout?

“I’m surprised you never bragged about it” Sniper grinned, focusing on the road again.

“Psh, I don’t want to get compared to that snake” Scout grumbled, kicking his feet up against the dashboard. “Oh I ran back for breakfast” He added, handing Sniper his box before opening his own.

“Do you think that thing made the news? Surely we can’t be the only ones that ran into it” Sniper turned the radio on, adjusting it till he found a clear station. Ads went on for a couple minutes before the news finally came on. The two of them tensed waiting for the newscaster to tell them, hopefully, about the creature.

“This is 96.3 KKOB reporting local news, recent weather has resulted in mudslides and flooding near natural water sources. If you see a puddle of water, don’t drive into it, even if it looks shallow it may not be. Stay tuned for news of La Mala Hora, the shapeshifting woman” The station announced ad after ad before finally returning with more news “we’ve heard word that La Mala Hora isn’t just stalking the roads after midnight. Eyewitnesses describe monsters with many arms and legs walking in a robe of many colors. These creatures have yet to attack anyone but beware she is seen as an omen of death at crossroads.” Sniper was quick to turn the radio off again, harmless?

“It didn’t seem that way when we ran into it” Sniper grumbled, voicing his thoughts.

“Yeah, you saw how it fused right?” Scout asked, he could almost see the gears turning in his mind as he thought of reasons why the creature, or creatures as the news said, might attack them but not anyone else.

“Yeah”

“Do you think the reason it attacked us might have something to do with that fusion surgery we had to go through?” 

“Sounds more accurate than La Mala Hora”

“It could still be real” Scout defended “We know why it’s reacting to us but not where it came from, and fusion is pretty close to shapeshifting” He wanted to raise his eyebrow but Scout was kind of right, they were never told where fusion came from.

“I bet Spy knows”

“Probably” They both sighed. After that the ride was quiet, they didn’t turn the news station on again. They did stop for lunch but it wasn’t for long and they were on the road again. Just as Sniper expected they made it to Oklahoma and when they reached the city Sniper kept driving to Scout’s surprise.

“Hey aren’t we gonna stop?” Scout looked up from wherever he had been looking with a curious, but sleepy look in his eyes.

“Yeah, thought we’d sleep in a hotel tonight”

“What time is it?” 

“Just past six thirty” Sniper said, tapping the camper’s radio to make sure it was reading the right time. “There’s a gas station just down the street if you want to grab some snacks while I get the room”

“Man, we should have stopped in Clayton. Six hours was rough”

“Mmm, grab me an Arizona Tea or somethin’” Sniper mumbled, parking the camper, energy suddenly sapped as the last few hours of driving finally hit him. He got out just remembering his phone at the last minute, it was strange having to remember it after not having one for so long. He supposed it wasn’t much different than remembering his walky talky. Scout said something about a dollar tree before running off, Sniper yawned and made his way to the hotel practically trudging. As soon as he entered the room he collapsed on the closest bed and kicked his shoes off. He was just starting to drift off when he heard a knock on the door.

“Hey Snipes if you’re in there open up I don’t know what room you’re in and I’ve already kocked on like five, please let me in i’m pretty sure the guy in room five is planning my murder as we speak.” He groaned and sat up, his hat falling from his head leaving behind a mess of hair, only now did he realize how painfully his belt was digging into his skin.

“Sorry I forgot you’d left, I just realized I don’t have your number” Scout shrugged, equally as tired, a white plastic bag hanging from his shoulders.

“I got some microwavable stuff so we don’t have to go out” He let the bag drop to the floor and flopped onto the bed Sniper had been planning to use, oh well. He pulled his shoes on and gathered his hat from the bed.

“I’m gonna go get our stuff, which suitcase is your travel bag?”

“Small blue one” Scout said muffled by the bed “Looks like a backpack but a handle comes out of it, blue backpack with wheels”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a minute” All Sniper got back was a quiet grunt, maybe they would travel less next time. It had been a while since he’d been on the road with his camper so it had been difficult but it had probably been worse for Scout who had always been doing something back at base. Just watching the world go by probably made him restless. Sniper thought over ways to make the trip less boring as he walked back to the camper, as he neared it he spotted a light from behind it.

“Whoever’s back there you better not be tagging my…” Sniper trailed off as he peaked around the corner, the light didn’t come from a lamp, it came from a crack in the ground. He stepped back quietly watching as a foot pushed its way out of the crevice. Slowly and quietly he opened the door, if more creatures kept coming out of that crack they wouldn’t have a camper in the morning. Sniper winced as the engine rolled over a couple times before starting, again when the camper drove over a small bump. At least it wasn’t a racoon, Soldier would have killed him.

After the short walk in the cooling air and the run in with the strange shapeshifting limbs he was no longer tired and went straight to get dinner ready when he found himself in the hotel again. Scout looked up tiredly when he heard the sound of silverware clanking, or perhaps smelled food cooking. 

“I moved the camper, found this strange split in the ground next to it, glowing. A foot crawled out of it” He sat and dished out the food. Scout sat, flopped, and took a small bite of food before speaking.  
“Do you think we could do something to it if we fused?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well obviously these things have something to do with fusion, we may not glow like they do when we fuse but it’s too similar to be a coincidence. Besides, I’m sure back at base the doc didn’t have enough chances to figure everything about fusion out. There’s probably some stuff he missed. Maybe we should…”

“Fuse?” He looked up from his food as he finished Scout’s sentence.

“Yeah, well not now, when we stop for lunch tomorrow or something” He quickly added standing to clean his plate, then froze with a panicked look on his face “Shit”

“What?”

“Forgot my plate” Scout slumped back into his seat with a groan “Engie’s still got it, how could I forget it, this is unreal” 

“You were probably just distracted, we could head back, spend the night in Santa Fe”

“Yeah distracted” Sniper felt a pointed glare on his back when he turned to wash his plate but when he turned again Scout’s gaze was averted innocently. Sniper looked back to the sink with furrowed eyebrows. “I’m gonna go take a shower” That same tone.

“Sure, let me know when you’re finished” He let out a long sigh when the door to the bathroom finally shut, fusion, it seemed like Scout had run away after the last time. Sniper put his dish down bracing his hands on the edge of the sink, He probably wouldn’t have suggested it first if he had run away the first time. Sniper sighed and left the dishes to dry, overthinking wouldn’t help him, he was too tired for it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho what's happening here? Scout seems to be catching feelings but what about Sniper?


	9. Deceptively Honest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd squeeze in a little oxymoron for the title :D

The next day Scout glanced down the aisles of a nondescript santa fe grocery store as he walked, frozen foods, fruit, canned produce. No Sniper. He groaned and pulled out his phone feeling like one of those kids they call over the loudspeakers, it didn’t help that he was wearing an extremely corny alien t-shirt. The phone rang for about a second before Sniper picked up.

“Snipes… Don’t laugh”

“Y’alright?” Sniper asked from the other end, worried at his quiet, downtrodden voice.

“...m’lost”

“Huh?” less worried now, just curious.

“I said I’m lost now hurry up and find me” He snapped loudly, embarrassed. The phone crackled suddenly, soon he realized it was Sniper trying to muffle the sound of his laughter. “I said not to laugh” He hissed closing his eyes as his face flushed.

“Alright, alright, describe your surroundings” Sniper replied with a chuckle, damn him.

“By the fresh produce… I think”

“You think?” He asked

“S-shut up, I’ll find my own way out” he stuttered, stuttered. When was the last time that happened? He hung up before Sniper could make fun of him any longer, his face felt hot. Scout shoved his phone back in his pocket and picked up his shopping basket. Somehow he made shopping look menacing. The white noise of the market melted his mood quickly enough though and as he listened two familiar voices found their way to his ears. Scout started as they grew louder, closer, and quickly walked away from them. Turning a corner, he waited but they followed still unaware of his presence. Again he ducked down another aisle only to run straight into Sniper and-

In that instant he saw he had a worried look on his face, Sniper could probably see the panic in his eyes. He had caught him again just like last time, the both of them remembered clearly, fusion. That thought on the edge of his consciousness, in both of their minds started the process and they were fusing once again.

‘The glasses’ Scout’s thought was loud, insistent and before Sniper could even agree his arm moved and a smooth black visor was planted over his eyes. In their mindscape, where it was only the two of them he didn’t let himself relax into the warmth that he had last time, Scout only held his breath as the steps grew closer, radiating paranoia. The fusion acted as natural as he could with his two minds at odds.

‘Scout’ Sniper broke through his thoughts.

‘What?’

‘You’re okay’ Ah so he picked up on that.

‘Just act natural’ He squeezed in just as the pair of footsteps he had been running from rounded the corner.

“We should just leave him alone, Dad we can’t stay under your wing forever” His eyes widened at the face the voice belonged to, a familiar boston accent with a familiar dimpled face “He’s gonna be pissed when he finds out you put a-” no someone else.

“Quiet we’re right on top of him” Scout’s father said in a familiar snappy tone, Sniper didn’t seem to recognize him without the balaclava and expensive suit. At least this whole ordeal had one upside.

“Dad putting a tracker on him is a little much” the red scout, Jean, said irritably.

“This is the perfect time to- he’s moving-” He looked up expecting to see Jeremy making a useless attempt to run away, Instead he only found a strange tall lanky man with an even stranger sense of style. “Hey, excuse me, where did you get that belt?” The fusion stopped and turned towards the two, not as calm as he appeared. Good thing they had never fused on the battlefield.

“Oh this? Got it on the road a while back, pretty neat right?” He lied smoothly much to Sniper's surprise, that part of him definitely came from Scout, the last person he would think to be good at lying.

“Mind if we take a look at it?” He asked

“Sure” He started taking off the belt only to pause and narrow his eyes “You’re not going to run off with it are you?” Playing the part of the stupid ufo chasing tourist. Spy rolled his eyes before answering.

“No, we will not steal your belt, now please”

“Yeah” The fusion sniffed with a suspicious look on his face before handing the belt over, Jean peared over his father’s shoulder as he picked something from the belt, most likely the tracker and gave the belt back. He looked the belt over for any sign of tampering and nodded satisfied. When the two finally left they didn’t unfuse though.

‘What was that?’ Sniper questioned concerned.

‘What was what?’ He deflected nervously ‘Hey they’re gone we can unfuse now’

‘No, answer me first. What was that? How did you do that?’

‘Fine, if you don’t want to lets at least finish shopping’

‘Scout-’

‘Let’s just finish this first okay?’

‘Okay’ With both minds finally at ease for the time being he relaxed absentmindedly picking foods for the both of them, only when he finally reached the cash register did he notice giving the crasheer a friendly grimace.

“Buying for a friend”

“Will that be credit or debit?” The cashier didn’t seem to care that much, popping a piece of gum with a bored look on his face as he rang up their items.

“Uh… Debit...” He glanced back at the store worriedly before thanking him and leaving. He sighed glad to be away from there and casually opened a bag of chips as he walked. This town wasn’t as small as the last one. He hesitated when he finally looked down at the bag of chips, Scout’s favorite, Sniper not so much. He groaned tiredly, after all he had already opened the bag. The fusion ate it anyway, his taller half let it go easily enough.

‘So…’

‘Yeah, yeah I hear you loud n’ clear. Well not hea- whatever you know what I mean’

‘Why are you avoiding them?’ At least he didn’t ask about the lying again. Scout started on a thought but stopped with scruple. Sniper wasn’t able to pressure him any longer as four familiar teammates stood bickering outside a local McDonalds. A fifth person stood beside their Spy as a random stranger yelled at them. He grimaced as Engie continued to try, unsuccessfully, to calm Medic’s rapidly growing anger to which the bellowing idiot was unawares. He tried to pass by, he really had, but a tall lanky guy with a visor was hard to miss, good thing he had Scout’s snap back instead of Sniper’s trademark slouch hat.

“Aye you, hey I’m talking to you” Shit. “Hey, asshole, quite starin’ if you’ve got something to say, say it” He exhaled slowly trying to hide the fact from the stranger, he didn’t hide it well enough “Oh, oh you think you’re better than me don’tcha? I’ll give you something to sigh about moth-” The fusion’s jaw set and before Scout can do anything about it the stranger went flying.

“Ops…” He looked down at his hand sheepishly “Ma’s gonna be pissed” He looked at the guy cradling his nose, groaning on the ground with a grimace. Surprise radiated from Scout, that definitely had not come from his side. When he looked up at the team he realized were still one person, one person that none of them had seen before. Scout quickly pulled him into character.

'Snipes...?' he thought as they started their façade. 

“Uh- uh listen please don’t call the cops” He looked from his fist to the guy back and forth with a panicked look on his face. “I’ll do anything” Medic looked over towards Spy and Engie with a very serious look on his face, so serious that the fusion was almost scared for real. With a single sentence that small thought bloomed into full blown panic.

“Can we keep him?” He was just in time to school his horrified expression.

“I double that request” The woman accompanying Spy spoke up with a look in her eyes that looked too close to Medic’s during surgery to be comfortable.

'Sorry, doesn't usually happen' Sniper answered guilty

“Can it vile woman, even you know better than to pick strays up off the street-” Hope blossomed, there was no way he could fight them or outrun them without raising suspicion and he didn’t really want to explain why they’d been walking around fused voluntarily. Spy flicked his cig before taking another drag “-or that’s what I would say if I didn’t have a good feeling about this one.” The hope wilted.

“Keep me?” He questioned deciding on bewilderment to keep up on appearances. Medic had never specified on the side effects, if there were any, of staying fused for too long. Nor was he sure how long they could keep it up.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it son” Came the smooth southern drawl that belonged to Engineer, Heavy shook his head with a sigh.

“Will treat you da?” Heavy said interrupting the now bickering ‘vile woman’ and Spy “Interrupted rude man, very annoying, good job” The group was already herding him towards the building before he could make a run for it. His window of opportunity missed he simply went along with them, the stranger still sprawled on the street holding his bleeding nose.

It was easier than he thought to fake new reactions to the bull the team had considered normal for the past couple years. The new beginning with Spy was strange, from Scout and Spy’s first start on a bad foot they had gone downhill both unwilling to apologize, now he found that getting along with him wasn’t so bad. He quickly noticed the tension between him and Engie, something he hadn't seen before, it must’ve happened recently. The woman who now sat as far away from Spy, Dr. Spitalfields, she was definitely new but it wasn’t something he could ask questions about.

“Ah we forgot to exchange names” Medic suddenly spoke up “I’m Medic”

“Engineer, just call me Engie”

“Heavy”

“Spy”

“Dr. Spitalfields, unlike them I have an actual name, Spitalfields works too” The woman snorted sending a scornful look Spy’s way. Well this could get complicated, maybe there was an easier way to avoid that.

“Well since you guys all get nicknames then I get one too” Scout popped to attention insisting quite adamantly on Sharpshooter, Sniper scowled insisting on Ranger, unfortunately that translated to the fusion’s expression. They watched curiously as his expression changed “Ranger- ow” He winced as the taste of copper hit his tongue “bit my lip”

‘Scout, the hell’

‘Sniper, the hell, Sharpshooter sounds so much cooler’

‘It’s a mouthful is what it is’

‘I-’ Scout’s thought was cut off by their waiter refilling glasses, he quickly took a sip cringed as the cold water hit, ice water.

“Whatever you say Ranger”

“Hey if the shoe fits, I play a pretty mean ranger”

“Video games?” Medic asked

“Yeah, you guys play video games?”

“Nah, one of our other friends though” Hard hat spoke with a grimace “Tried to get us to, he’s an alright kid. Doesn’t always know when to quit though” they smiled along with him after the last part.

“Sisters in Russia try to convince me, did not end well” Heavy chuckled “You live around here?” Ah. He supposed those questions would have to come eventually.

“Nah, just been on the road, haven't really planned any further” He quickly looked down at his food with a sad look that would deter any questions, he didn’t want to lie to his teammates, neither of them were willing to do that. Damn this was just getting more and more complicated, this didn’t feel right. He stood from the booth quickly, hopefully not too quickly, making a poor excuse about having to use the bathroom. It’d be fine right? As long as they never fused on the battlefield. After today this would never happen again.

‘This?’ Scout questioned, a hand removed his visor, four eyes peered back at him from the reflective surface.

‘I don’t know Scout’ Sniper hesitated ‘you know, lie to them again’

‘Yeah. Shit, Yeah. Could we… Could we just leave now?’

‘Yeah let’s get out of here’ He sighed a hand brushing against the tags around his neck, had anyone seen them? No, they had been hidden under his shirt. He sighed and returned nervously. Now they just had to figure out how to get away from the four, possibly five, highly trained killers without tipping them off. He felt like the answer was probably a lot easier than he thought.

“Ranger, you’re back” Engie perked up with a grin “Since you’ve got no plans we thought we’d invite you along to go alien hunting?” Shit… The alien shirt… He’d already said he didn’t have plans, not only that but he couldn’t say he wasn’t interested.

“Sure, where are you guys headed?”

“Arizona, lots of ufo sightings over there.” Spy answered, this was suspicious. It might have made sense if Pyro and Soldier had come along for the ride but they hadn’t and Spy was trying to persuade him as well. It was troubling, the smartest people on his team were convincing someone they didn’t know to go along with them and not all of them were incredibly sane. Then again if Engie was the one to suggest the idea then maybe it wasn’t that troubling, he doubted Spy would do something to a random stranger he had no reason to kill, then again.

“Sounds neat, maybe I could even visit the grand canyon” Guilt twisted in his gut, more lying. Hopefully this trip wouldn’t last long, hopefully they wouldn’t try to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder what Medic and Springfields are up to


	10. Snails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I got a bit distracted and couldn't resist posting this XD

“Well, now that we’ve got that over and done with, what should we have for dinner?” Engie asked, It was if a spell had been broken just by mentioning food.

“Can we please just get something normal this time” Springfields asked tiredly

“Are you suggesting what we’ve had isn’t normal?”

“YEs Spy, sNAILs are nOt nORMAL”


	11. Blood Tongue and Meat Jelly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be unfair to go another day after that short little sneak peak :')
> 
> First real chapter of 2021! I dub this the lucky year!

He had really tried, really, to get out of it. No matter what excuse he made the mercs thought of a counter. Eventually, even though he had said that he had been traveling by bus, he had been hassled into going along with their plans. Alien watching didn’t sound so bad either, especially since it was the type of thing Sniper enjoyed, Scout had tried once with Jean and Quinn but it had gotten boring fast. They had almost gotten out of the trip by making an excuse to go get their belongings from the hotel but to his surprise, and worry, in the morning Spy had been waiting outside for him. He spent most of the trip out of New Mexico worrying. It was fair to be worried too. Across from him Heavy dozed oblivious to his thoughts, the wind pulled at them, he leaned against a large metal tool box that most definitely contained guns and other weapons.

“What do you think they have planned?” Sniper asked aloud, Ranger’s voice.

“Who knows, I’d be less afraid if it wasn’t the most level headed of them” Scout replied, removing the sunglasses cautiously, eyeing Heavy to see if he would wake up “These things are giving me a headache- us? I don’t know dude”

“He could wake up”

“He isn’t now” Scout relieved them of the snapback and messed their hair, it felt nice, maybe it was worth it for a moment, to act like two people in one body instead of one person in one body. “It feels suspiciously right, doesn’t it?” thoughts floated through their minds. Sniper nodded looking down at their hands, something was missing he just couldn’t place it. Like running into battle without a gun, something that important. Something. Something. Ranger closed his eyes, a memory, no something.

Suddenly the wind around him was gone, he didn’t dare open his eyes, the sound of dripping echoed around him. The air felt stale, wet, chills went down his spine. It didn’t feel like they were driving in the bed of Engie’s truck anymore, no it felt like they were in a graveyard where the ghosts didn’t sleep, where cats had walked over each and every grave. Somewhere ugly and sad and messed up. A voice spoke above the ambience, wavering, frightened. Shaking, angry.

“So this is what they think of fusion...

-We couldn’t have known they would do this-

This is where they’ve been- all the ones we couldn’t find- they’ve been here the whole time!

She couldn’t have known-

This is punishment for fighting back-

It’s not our fault!”

Suddenly everything came back to him with a gasp, just as suddenly he was aware of a wetness under his eyes and a startling feeling that they should know who the speaker was. At the same time they became aware of the fact that he no longer was wearing his glasses and Heavy was stirring from his slumber. He quickly put his glasses and hat back in place, he was no longer in the cave. Had it even been a cave? The sound of the truck’s back window opening startled him from his thoughts, he was able to refrain from jumping.

“Herr Ranger, tell Heavy we’ll be stopping in a half hour or so”

“I am awake” Heavy said with a low yawn, he readjusted his snap back as heavy stretched and sat back.

“Ah, we’ll be stopping at a reststop soon, it doesn’t have any places to eat so we’ll just have the stuff in the cooler. Could you make your sandwiches?”

“Da, when we get there” The window closed with a muffled clack and the rest of the ride went without a hitch, no more daydreams, no more whatever that had been. The stop was nothing to ogle over, normal, with picnic benches just like the trailer park back in Stinger New Mexico. Just that was almost enough to make it abnormal. It definitely was enough to put a chill down his spine like the cave had. That creature, whatever it had been, was wrong. He didn’t know why he had that feeling, it was an overwhelming sense even if he wasn’t exactly sure of it’s source.

“Cold?” He asked as he stepped from the truck “Will switch with Medic, we both are accustomed to the cold”

“I- No- it’s not that cold”

“Nyet?” Heavy chuckled “Is okay, do not feel bad, he will switch” He hesitated if only for a moment, it had been cold after all.

“Alright” he puffed with a smile, beyond the truck Spy’s car pulled into the lot, Heavy carried a cooler that must’ve been in the truck’s cramped back seat. For a while he sat and watched the five of them set up, Springfields still held his curiosity but he had come to terms with the fact that there was no way for him to ask the questions he wanted to without rousing suspicion. A flock of birds caught his eye as they burst from the small, brown, Arizona forest. A distorted scream followed as they ran from whatever had made the sound.

“What in the hell?” Engie looked towards the forest where it had come from, a frown on his face. The others paused as well turned toward the awful noise. The scream that the shapeshifter had made. The monstrosity, the abomination with limbs for fingers. He shivered again. The fleeting thought that it had followed them was quickly brushed away, it was more likely that an entirely different creature had risen from an entirely different crack in the earth. They all assumed what they had been doing, they probably hadn’t seen the beings yet. “Do you think we should go check that out? It almost sounded human, maybe someone’s getting mauled out there” He continued slowly his forehead crinkled with worry.

“I would like to see what type of bear could make such a sound” Springfields spoke, Medic jumped at the opportunity. That left him Spy and Heavy, actually it seemed like they were about to join in.

“I’ve got a bad feeling” He blurted suddenly, there was no way to specify past that, after all the creatures didn’t attack normal people, people who hadn’t been experimented on.

“Oh don’t be a baby Ranger, ve can put the cooler in the bed it shouldn’t thaw by the time we get back” Medic insisted, excited for new test subjects, Engie cast a worried look his way but that was all. There was no way he was leaving them alone with those things.

“Fine” He muttered stubbornly, then he was getting dragged yet again in a direction he didn’t want to go. He was almost relieved to see that they were heading in a direction somewhat off from where he had heard the sound come from. After an hour of walking around aimlessly he was able to relax a little bit. That is until he found the group crowded around a glowing crack in the ground with no monster in sight. A foot fused with a hand dragged itself towards Spitalfields, she threw it as soon as she saw it.

“What is a shard doing all the way out here?” Spy asked the scientist, so she knew something about this?

“I don’t know, I think the people who went down into that cave I was talking about might have done something, a little more something than they told anyone about-” another scream pierced the air, too close for comfort.

“I’m telling you guys I have a bad feeling about this” before he could get any more in the thing he had been dreading crawling over the hill behind him. It’s robes fluttered like the tail of a dire wolf, a predator, it’s palm turned towards them. Four eyes opened as it stared them down again, silent. They stood still in awe of the strange creature standing before them, frozen. Silent before it screamed and charged toward them. “Run, RUN, shit, snap out of it” He yelled, pushing the closest person to start running.

“Vhat the hell is that” Medic yelled after Heavy picked him up.

“Fuckin’ nightmare fuel, can we do this after we get away safely?” He interrupted Spitalfields before she could say anything, of course she knew. If the radio had been right they didn’t attack normal people meaning he had one more thing to hide from them. Hopefully she would just think it was attacking the others and he was just getting in the way.

“I think we are more than far enough away” Spy said as everyone started to slow down “Seems your feeling was right on the mark Ranger” shit, Spy was talking to him.

“I tried to tell you I’m usually right about these things” He grumbled, right, just play it cool.

“Perhaps bu-”

“Hate to interrupt your very important conversation” Springfields said in a way that suggested she very much didn’t hate to “but that thing is on our tail, it might be better to hide for a while than run”

“Saw cave when we walked” Heavy suggested

“Vhat? That old thing? Heavy you will never fit!” Medic objected, he was quick to quell the doctor’s nerves though.

“Too small for beast, not too small for Heavy” He simply answered, nudging him to start walking again when they heard the crack of a branch over the hill they had just run from. They were as quiet as they could be, until someone stepped on an especially loud branch only a meter from the cave. It was answered by a loud crash behind them, the sound of something big tearing toward them.

“Shit” Engie swore and they were all cramming into a sorry excuse for a cave, the entrance jaggad and small opened up giving them breathing room. The mercs closest to the entrance jumped when a loud thunk echoed across the walls suggesting the cave opened up further in. Two of the creature's eyes lined up with the crack, a dull gleam to them as it struggled with it’s handed fingers to reach its prey. He shuttered.

“It’ll camp out there all night if we stay in it’s sight” Springfields broke their short silence “We should move further in”

“Hell…” Engie said rubbing a hand over his eye “First I’d like some explanation on what a shard is”

“Why didn’t we just take route 40?” She hissed

“I thought y'all would appreciate seeing trees one last time before we saw desert for the rest of the day.” Engie sighed before adding “Now fess up, I’m not letting you change the subject so easily.”

“An ingredient in your surgery” It was a simple answer but like most answers it brought with it even more questions. “The smaller one you saw me throw can be killed, poofed I guess. As far as I know the shards are somewhat of a true form while the creature you saw was a projection. We call them shards because they were originally full gems. The creature you just saw is what I assume to be a fully formed gem” Perhaps they really were going to kill him, about one hundered percent of what she just said was classified information. She avoided mentioning exactly what type of surgery it was so maybe there was hope for him yet.

“La mala hora” He started “The news mentioned it a couple days ago but I thought it was only in new mexico, they aren’t supposed to attack people”

“That sounds about right” Springfields responded with a huff, she didn’t elaborate, must have had something to do with the surgery then. They walked in silence for a while, no one saying if they should stop or keep going. Echoes from the beast reminded them that it was still there. He could feel a gentle, fresh breeze on his face. What were the odds that this cave had a second entrance? It only made sense that it wasn’t that simple.

“So, which direction?” He asked as they slowed to a stop, a fork in the road. Sniper hoped he wasn’t the only one there with caving experience.

“Follow the air currents” Spy said lighting a cigarette, when the others turned to stare at him he shrugged “You would be surprised at how dangerous air vents are” He held the lighter in front of each entrance experimentally, then turned towards the one that had made the light flickered the most “This way then” and that was about the most interesting thing that happened until they left the cave and found themselves on the edge of the desert.

“Well, now that we’ve got that over and done with, what should we have for dinner?” Engie asked, It was if a spell had been broken just by mentioning dinner.

“Can we please just get something normal this time” Springfields asked tiredly

“Are you suggesting what we’ve had isn’t normal?”

“Yes Spy” She answered simply with another one of her super charged glares. “Medic, Heavy, I may like your food but I can only take so many foods that translate to Blood Tongue and Meat Jelly.” Ranger visibly winced “Same to you Engie, I’d just rather die from a heart attack later than now” the tex grumbled something under his breath obviously embarrassed.

“Take out?” He questioned perking up, if there was one thing he loved it was definitely something he didn’t have to cook, both Scout and Sniper could agree on this since Scout didn’t know the half of cooking and Sniper really only knew how to cook meat. At least it was good meat, he defended privately.

“Take out” She confirmed with a grin, next to her Spy had started sputtering.

“We’re at least five hours away from literally everything you idiot!”

“Fine then I guess you don’t want any”

“Of course I don’t want any of your mushy one star take out” Spy shivered in disgust and fell back before he could be dragged into any more conversation.

“Do we even know where the truck is anymore?” He asked worriedly, the sun would set soon, it was already getting cold “-and are we going to just ignore the fact that we just escaped the jaws of death?” he hesitated as the group grew silent around him.

“Yes” Engie said suddenly “Just by telling you it’s confidential we could get in trouble”

“When we reach the Grand Canyon I’ll be out of your hair again so you guys can go fight monsters or whatever” Speaking with just the right amount of wistfulness, at least now he had an out. They wouldn’t have to do this for much longer now, Sniper stifled his feelings of doubt, Scout his feelings of dread.

After a while the walk had gotten colder, with all that time to think while they walked he came to the conclusion that they would be camping out. No one had planned to stay at the rest stop for longer than fifteen minutes and here they were at least two hours later, another three and they would have been in Flagstaff. Everyone was so tired when they got back to trucks that they had fallen into old habits and did everything on automatic, they didn’t even seem to realize that Ranger fit into the mess a little too well, he expected at least one of them to stay up and interrogate him or something but everyone really had fallen asleep.

‘Maybe they recognize us in their subconscious’ Sniper thought, Ranger rested his head on a hand as he watched over the sleeping mercs. They had to make do with what little they had, which was surprisingly a lot.

‘I’m surprised Spy isn’t suspicious of that’ Scout snickered, almost all of them brought a blanket, the only exceptions were Spy and himself. His jacket was warm enough anyways.

‘Me too… we’ve lost a lot of ground’ Sniper thought irked.

‘It’s fine, It wouldn’t matter much if I didn’t go back to boston right away’ A feeling of annoyance bubbled from Scout, it didn’t seem to be directed towards him. ‘Jean is more of the family mascot yanno? How do I explain… There’s the quiet twin and the loud twin, or the fast one and the slow one, well we’re both fast, nevermind’

‘I think I get what you mean’ Sniper thought sluggishly ‘You’re different with your family than Jean is- different relationship’

‘Yeah’ Scout thought, if felt like he was fading too, Sniper wondered absentmindedly if they could fall asleep like this. Another passing thought, perhaps they should give each other some space to sleep, it was dismissed as he was already too comfortable. Without knowing it Ranger’s head slumped slowly to the table, the hood of his jacket kept his head warm, the sheene of his glasses hiding his telling four eyes from sight.

When he woke up again it was somehow colder than before, a second jacket fell from his shoulders as he looked up to see the others moving about quietly minus Spy and Springfield, they were yelling in whispers. He supposed it was the thought that counted. Perhaps it was Springfields that was throwing Spy off his game, either way he was glad even if the woman could be louder than Soldier when she wanted to. After only a couple minutes they were ready and on the road once again, like Heavy promised Ranger got the shotgun seat. 

Five minutes into the drive Ranger felt the truck go over a bump, out of the corner of his eye he saw something too late. 

The truck flew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I should clarify that when scenes of both sniper and scout pop up you can consider them to be in their own little mindscape, It's like that little spot in your head were you aren't bound by anything, you're just you. If they had forms in this state they would be spectral, like the sound waves in fantasia they don't have physical bodies in this state.
> 
> I'm sure someone else could explain it easier, if you want to check it out search up "sound wave fantasia" and it should be the first thing to show up, the sounds are very playful and are sure to put you in a good mood :D


	12. Past Wishes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALERT!
> 
> I added something vital to the last chapter (extra paragraph at the end) it was totally last minute and 200% garbage but make sure you didn't miss it!

His ears were ringing. The desert sun blasted his eyes and he winced holding a hand above his face as far off sounds bounced around his numb ears, meters away the truck stood still, the others were sprawled around it. The creature followed him, the one from Stinger, now that he took a closer look it wasn’t just one hand but two. One acting as the legs and one as the head, it turned towards medic and heavy. As his hearing came back to him he heard the sound of wheels grinding on dirt to his left, that would be Spy and Springfields following behind them. The beast turned toward the sound ignoring his existence entirely, it didn’t seem to be able to see. If that thing was strong enough to bulldoze a truck there was no way the two of them could take it in that measly sports car.

He fought to stand, out of all of them in this state of fusion he was the strongest physically. They hadn’t seen the creature yet a large rock blocked their view but not from the unconscious mercs, he had to keep it that way, after all he couldn’t say he was just in the way if it was directly targeting him. A change in the wind was all it took for the creature to turn it’s face to the sky and slowly turn his way. He supposed it really had been hunting him in the end. Ranger braced himself as it faced him down a low clicking growl, there would be questions after this if they saw. When he dodged the creature’s body he was faster than should have been possible in such a state. When it turned the fight into a brawl he was too strong for a normal human. A mouth opened on the creature’s palm where the last creature’s eyes had been, white teeth and a warm wet breath too close to his face as he felt something similar to getting torn limb from limb. In the back of his mind he recognized Spy and Springfields growing closer, he could only afford to pay attention to his foe.

‘It feels like it’s tearing us apart’ Scout struggled. This feeling was all too familiar, this situation, everything. The feeling of destabilization and horror, the feeling from the cave.

‘Yeah I know, why do you think we’re trying to defeat it?’ Sniper replied, irritation drifting from his mind from the fact that he was talking mid battle, Scout huffed.

‘Not our body dumbass, what do you say we try to replicate it?’ Sniper connected the dots and grinned, the creature was animalistic so whatever it was doing to defeat him was most likely the way he could defeat it. Not only that but the creature was trying to unfuse him, following prior logic that meant it was also a fusion. That familiar feeling, and instinct, blossomed again. He followed it and pushed forward one final time pulling his arms apart as he dug into the creature and yanked. He stumbled forward as it poofed away the weight against him suddenly gone. The shard glared in the sun, he stumbled again as he picked it up and held it above his head, victory. Or as Sniper would say-

“Aces” He murmured in a light australian accent, then he cleared his throat with embarrassment and looked back in the direction the others would have been. He walked around the corner, fortunately they hadn’t heard and were focused on Engie, currently under a medigun, still unconscious. “Right” he muttered, struggling to drop the accent, strange, he hadn’t had trouble before. Maybe he had a concussion or something. He threw the shard a good ways away before walking over to the truck and collapsed in it’s bed with a tired sigh. He simply listened to them as they spoke having yet to notice him or the noise the monster had made.

“How worried are you Medic?” Spy asked, concern laced his voice.

“Atch, calm down, it’s not like he’s on the verge of death” He complained in typical Medic fashion. Heavy grunted, something between a laugh and a snort. “Well, not anymore at least…” He cackled as Spy rolled his eyes.

“Why did I come with you again?” Springfields asked

“I didn’t ask to move you” Spy muttered

“Please keep it down you’re arguing like an old married couple” Engie’s groan broke through their new conflict, no doubt they would have started screaming had he not intervened, his comment shut them up quickly enough. “I just had the random dream, then again all dreams are strange, sometimes dream logic sends me for a loop”

“Dream?” Spy asked, suddenly very curious.

“Yeah, I was on the moon looking down at earth.”

“Dream of moon? Not so strange” Heavy insisted with a doubtful look.

“No, no, it had a barn on it, it felt like a refuge of some sort even if lonely” Engie sighed and started to stand “I highly doubt there is a barn on the moon, looked familiar, maybe it was something from my childhood, a neighbor’s barn or something like that” Springfields coughed lightly with a strange expression on her face before speaking.

“Actually…” Medic scoffed at her “I’m not lying! There should be a telescope in Spy’s car, I’ll show you tonight, since we’re on the topic of dreams have any of you had similar dreams that feel familiar, I think it could be a side effect of your surgery”

“Da, strange dream” Heavy said after a while “very strange, heavy guesses new eye color was not the strangest side effect then” uncomfortable, he seemed unwilling to say any more in front of the others.

“Alright, Engie would you mind letting medic drive? Spy could you let him ride along in your car? I’ll sit in the truck with Heavy, Ranger can sit shotgun with Medic if that’s alright with everyone? Whatever hit you guys seems to be gone but that can only last for so long” No one objected so she started helping Spy and Engie to the car while Heavy brought Ranger to the truck. Springfields caught on to some tension between the two but didn’t say anything, perhaps Spy had finally done some digging that he regretted.

“I’ve got it from here” Engie insisted, then backed off as he shut the car door behind him.

“Spy, you should probably apologize to him” She mentioned casually, the trick behind catching a Spy in the act? Talk as if you know everything.

“I already apologized” For once the annoyance in his tone was not directed at her, then he looked up with a confused expression on his face “Wait how did you-”

“Well it still seems to be on your mind, confront him if you’re still so worried” She interrupted before retreating back to the truck, he opened his mouth to reply but she was already gone.

“Mon dieu that woman” He shook his head with a fond smile before dropping down into the car with a sigh, yes maybe he should apologize again. It felt more like his own guilt though, maybe Engie really was giving him somewhat of a cold shoulder, he’d thought it was just him. He pulled the car out as Medic drove the truck back onto the freeway, they were lucky it had landed back on it’s wheels without much damage. He looked through the rearview mirror, it was pointless, whatever had hit them was most likely long gone by now. He was stalling.

“What was Springfields saying?” The car swerved as Spy jumped, so deep in his thoughts that he had been startled. “Woah, uh sorry Spy” Embarrassment washed over his face, this couldn’t go any worse.

“Sorry” He cleared his throat attempting to regain his dignity before continuing “I was going to apologize again” he was too focused on the road to see his reaction “I should have just left instead of lingering, it just seemed cold in the garage at the time so I thought you might have wanted a jacket-” He was interrupted before he could start rambling.

“Wait- Spy, It’s fine we already got that cleared up” Engie looked concerned “You seem a bit on edge, you haven't had one of those dreams have you? “

“Dream?” Spy blinked “Not any strange ones like Springfields mentioned”

“They seem to affect emotions too from what I can tell, how about one that did that?” He ran through the dreams he had recently, he wasn’t the type to dream often so the list is short.

“No- wait. I dreamt of the ocean, being shackled to the ocean” He thought for a moment before continuing “Now that I think about it, after the dream I had an overwhelming feeling of-” guilt. “-well, nevermind, I know what is happening to me now” Spy quickly cut himself off, the last thing any of his team mates needed to know was how he ‘felt’.

“What are you two doing in Arizona by the way? Something to do with fusion?”

“You could say that, I don’t see how it’s connected to fusion, then again she is the expert. I would not say we have found anything that could be considered classified yet, we’re heading to some shallower canyons that offshoot from the grand canyon. She seems to be onto something” Spy looked back to the road and the two sitting in the truck ahead of them.

Springfields was speaking to him and Heavy was listening, slowly as the sun moved across the sky they made their way across the desert. She listened as he told a story of a woman he had never met, one that he was certain to be head over heels for, brave and strong. He was also certain he would have remembered such a woman had he met her. He dreamt of a war, one that he had never fought and comrades he had saved and been saved by but had never met.

“I’ve had ones myself, always of building something” Springfields said after a while of comfortable silence “And of a general in yellow, and of being scared, and of being brave. I think my predecessor was also in this war, all of our dreams seem to have something to do with a war. I’m afraid I have to discuss the rest with Spy.” Heavy nodded and looked back to his car speeding behind them.

“Predecessor?” He asked confused

“Another thing I can’t say” She sighed “I don’t know what I could get in trouble with sharing since I found all of this on my own rather than having been told by someone important” Heavy only nodded and asked an easier question.

“He has had dreams as well?” Springfields looked at the car as well waving with a grimace when Spy spotted them staring. He rolled his eyes, if he kept doing that they might get stuck she thought amused.

“I’m not sure” She faced him again “I tried calling some of the others but I couldn’t get in contact with most of them, Sniper and Scout worried me the most, the dial tone said the numbers I called no longer existed.”

“Da, is worrisome, and the others?”

“Well… Pyro seems to be on a business trip” She said with a confused expression on her face “Mesmuras said that Soldier no longer lived at the place I was calling and Demoman was too drunk to give me a straight answer.”

“And medic?” She looked up with a thoughtful expression on her face then looked towards the front of the truck where he and Ranger were sitting.

“To tell you the truth he probably is already investigating on his own” She seemed annoyed “He didn’t tell me much, he was reluctant, I think this war everyone dreams of is black and white, a clear right and wrong, he might have dreams of the wrong”

“No war is clearly good and bad” Heavy answered, she nodded certain he had understood what she had meant even if she had said it wrong “Doctor dreams of terrible things he feels are right but knows are wrong, a war made of ignorance.”

“Yes, or perhaps we’re wrong, there is no way to know” Springfields gave another one of her soft smiles, knowing as other team mates would describe. Often in her work it was quite the opposite. She often found herself in situations that she often didn’t have the answers to, just like how she didn’t know what happened to the creature that had attacked them, just like how she didn’t know that Sniper and Scout were sitting in the front seat of that very same truck.

“So… Dreams huh?” Ranger asked awkwardly

“Yes” Medic replied stiffly

“So are you guys astrophysicists or something?”

“Vhat?” He looked up from the road for a moment confused “Vhat? No, you do realize astrophysics is only about celestial bodies right?”

“Hippie stuff” Ranger broke through.

“Dream interpretation and astrophysics are entirely dif- atch nevermind, no the only proclaimed scientist here is Springfields.”

“So have you had any dreams like the others? Must’ve been some surgery to give you dreams afterwards” He pressured lightly, if anyone knew more about what Springfields was up to it would probably be the doc.

“No” Medic said firmly, despite that he noticed how his grip tightened around the wheel. Ranger nodded and made himself comfortable in his seat, it would be a long trip to Flagstaff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now for the fun stuff!
> 
> So this is nowhere near finished, however, I want to start planning something (maybe something to do with ghosts or zombies?) I have no idea. It's defiantly going to be higher quality, because of that it may not get fully produced but I have high hopes. Hopefully I can start planning that? It defiantly wont get written any time soon but I thought I'd get your thoughts on this!
> 
> Also, let me know what you think is gonna happen next (I want to hear your theories :D)


	13. Don't want to leave you hanging

Halloooooooooooooooooo

so

I think I'm going to take a short break so I can spit all the current ideas floating around my brain down on paper, it's just been building up and building up, all these ideas are distracting me from the story! So what I'm gonna do is write down a whole ton of stuff till I get bored again then jump back on The Art of Fusion. One of my pet peeves is unfinished stories, the last thing I want to do is leave you guys hanging :')

I'm sorry it's so sudden for all I know I'll only be gone for three days XD


	14. Transmission in the Desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It may start to take longer for updates since I have to cram for my junior project, lucky me :')

They should have realized sooner. Ranger thought as he took another sip from his plastic water bottle. It had been painfully obvious, at the time everyone had been deep in their own thoughts. Medic of what had gone unsaid, Ranger of his hidden identity, Spy of his guilt, Engie of his anger, Heavy of his unease, Springfields with her wonder. All six of them sucked into their own worlds, not a single one of them paying attention to the road as they took a wrong turn. To be fair driving right after they had been in a car crash hadn’t been the best idea.

“I do not know vhat happened, one moment I was on the road and the next we were in the middle of nowhere” Medic looked guilty, and he never looked guilty. Ranger filed this information in a special section of his brain as the conversation continued.

“White line fever” Springfields said seriously, when she saw the group’s bewildered, worried, expressions she quickly elaborated “Sorry, Highway hypnosis. Don’t look at me like that it’s not contagious, on the contrary it’s pretty common, it’s not your fault medic, today has been a long day” She smiled sympathetically “We’ll switch drivers more often after this”

Ranger’s gaze drifted to the horizon as they discussed how to get back to the road and ultimately civilization. Mostly dry earth, dust clouds, the occasional bush. A yellow landscape with an ugly clear sky, because no matter what tourists say, days with lovely puffy white clouds on the horizon are preferred over an ugly, dull, dusty, blue sky. He squinted his eyes as he spotted something strange on the horizon. Then looked back at the others curiously, it seemed Spy had spotted it too. Ranger watched quietly as he discreetly pulled Springfields aside, the others kept talking obliviously. His eyes narrowed as he watched the two talk back and forth about the tall scattered debris in the distance. Could it be Spy and not Medic that had been investigating alongside her? It kind of was Spy’s thing, intel gathering. After about five or so minutes of back and forth they returned to the conversation again.

“Alright good news and bad news” Springfields spoke up, breaking through whatever conversation had arisen while she’d left them alone “The good news is that I think one of the sites I’ve been wanting to visit for-” She looked in Ranger’s direction “-ufo sightings, is in this area. The bad news is that I’m not sure if this place has shelter” He groaned with the rest of them, the only good thing that had come from this was the fact that he now knew when anyone referred to ‘ufo’ it most likely meant ‘Mann Co. ultra classified’ “Don’t worry it’s only about a mile away. We can leave the cars here and walk back when we’re done”

“Great” Spy said curtly. He would need to watch them more closely, this place hopefully would give him more opportunities to test his theory, if he was right they would start talking more as she found what she was looking for. Ranger tossed his empty water bottle into the back of the truck and slung one of the bags over his shoulder, an unspoken agreement that they would have lunch at the pillars egged them to go faster.

It was hot, it was dry, he could feel a sunburn starting on his back but the walk there was short and when they got to the site the large pillars that he had been able to spot at least a mile away housed much needed shade. It sounded like everyone agreed when they all thumped down in the dust, he let out a breath as his back connected with the cool stone of the structure.

“You are lucky you have goggles” Heavy said, he opened his eyes to look up at him with a tilted head, goggles? Oh, glasses. He hoped dearly that he hadn’t seen through their reflection in the shade..  
“I guess” If his sun glasses hadn’t been hiding his ‘big secret’ he might like them more. Heavy seemed to sense his turmoil as usual. He didn’t say anything, He and Ranger weren’t close enough for that like Scout or Sniper had been. He fell quiet.

“You remind me of two friends” Heavy said, breaking the bubble of silence that surrounded their corner. The others, specifically Spy and Springfields, argued in the backdrop over what he presumed to be lunch.

“Yeah?” He tilted his head upwards doubtfully.

“Da” Heavy laughed at some unseen joke, Ranger frowned, maybe he resembled Scout and Sniper more than he thought. A startled yelp drew their attention to the rest of the group again. They stared down a pit in the ground, at least he assumed it was a pit, it looked too defined to be natural.

“Are you alright down there frauline?” Medic called, a quiet voice echoed back up to them, he couldn’t quite make out what she said from his spot in the shade but it seemed the ones surrounding the pit had heard her just fine, she must’ve been okay since the others seemed relieved at her response.

“Mon dieu could this day get any worse?” Spy asked exasperated

“Hey now, don’t jinx it” Engie said with a concerned look on his face, he peaked back down the hole before calling out to Springfields “just hold on a moment, we’ll get you out of there”

“And just how do you propose we do that?” Spy whispered irritably, Ranger sighed and looked over at Heavy who now shared the concerned look the others held. He looked back to the group and realized he was the only one who could make stupid suggestions at this moment, usually it was the idiotic ramblings of the rest of the team that qued the geniuses to start thinking out of the box.

“Why don’t we just jump down there?” It’s not like they had rope back in the truck to pull her up with, or any ladder to put down for.

“With no vay back up?” Medic scoffed, righting his glasses with his usual cold stare. They all paused when the ground beneath them gave a loud clicking sound, something old and rusty creaked threateningly, everyone froze in case the earth decided to give way. There was a soft thump before the clicking sounds became smoother and a neat set of stairs sprouted from the square hole in the ground in a wide spiral. Slowly lights started to turn on above the stairs, further down he could now see springfields next to a large lever, it seems the princess didn’t need saving.

“I guess I was closer than you guys were” Ranger muttered before walking down the steps to explore the space, He remembered his cover story before his window of opportunity could close “You guys said this was an alien site? I didn’t think one would be in the middle of nowhere but it looks like you guys were spot on” Bringing that cover story up again made him wonder what they had planned for his ‘civilian’ self.

“I told them but they didn’t believe me” Springfields muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Up above he could hear the mercenaries stumble down the stairs after him. Springfields sighed and walked further down the corridor, the walls were made of geometrical shapes, blue, yellow, pink. It took him some time to realize that it wasn’t just the pattern of the wall but brilliant murals that rose high above them as they walked further in.

“Mein gott, what is this?” Medic murmured as they continued to follow the hall. It was clear as day that whoever made this place was most likely rich, the ceiling was tall and the walkway was wide, the floor even if dusty was obviously well-kempt at one point in the past. It all seemed to be some shade of blue but it clearly wasn’t made by Blustarch or Mann Co.  
“Well… it’s a hallway” Ranger said slowly

“That much is obvious” Spy scoffed, taking the lead with Springfields as the others started to slow down to take a look at the murals.

“Are you guys sure this is alien stuff? I mean it could be but it looks way more human than extraterrestrial” Ranger and Spy stopped as Springfields slowed to a halt, in front of her was a strange doorway, beside it was something that looked like two metal detectors crossed together. Springfields examined the doorway silently while they waited, after a couple long moments of this she finally turned back to them with a grimace.

“Well… It looks like it’s locked, we miswell have lunch here before we head back, it’s definitely cooler in here, Heavy could you-?”

“Da, I will go back to get lunch” Ranger looked at all of them with confusion, they seemed to be on the same track. None of them even considered trying to get past the lock, what were they seeing that he wasn’t?

“So Ranger, where did you say you were heading after this?” Springfields asked as she walked over to the murals to take a closer look.  
“Boston” He answered automatically forgetting what he had said two days ago, he winced at the slip up.

“Boston?” Spy asked, suspicion laced his voice, Springfields shot a glare at him, after all it wasn’t strange for an entirely normal civilian to change plans and go to Boston.

“Yeah, I had been thinking about it for a while” He stumbled quickly “I have some family there that I haven't seen in a long time” Technically that was true but it was just one more detail in his tale, the sooner he got out of this the better. Why were they so accepting of a locked door? A locked door was the last thing that could stop them.

‘You do remember that we’re one person right now don’t you?’ Sniper thought as the four continued to talk

‘Oh…’ Scout continued his train of thought in embarrassment ‘but why did they bring Ranger if they’re just going to drop him off later?’

‘Dunno, maybe they’re just being nice. I think they have the impression that our character has some tragic backstory’ Scout glared as amusement rolled off Sniper

‘I didn’t lay it on that thick, I just wanted them to stop asking questions we couldn’t answer’

‘I know, I know, don’t worry we should be out of here soon’ Sniper thought reassuringly

‘Yeah... soon’ 

“Heavy thanks!” Ranger looked up as Springfield helped the russian mercenary put down the bags of food, it was mostly ingredients for sandwiches. At least lunch would be simple, getting here definitely hadn’t been. “Finally something normal!”

“Tch I object to that” Spy said with obvious distaste.

“Overruled” Ranger jumped in before Springfield could say anything, he didn’t want to hear their usual bickering if they were going to eat some of Heavy’s sandwiches. They both closed their mouths with an audible clunk before they both turned away from each other to sulk. Perfect, now lunch would be peaceful.

“That’s the quickest any one of us has ever gotten the two of them quiet” Medic muttered with a light snort, Ranger coughed to hide his laugh before picking out ingredients for his sandwich. “After we go our separate ways would you ever consider meeting us again?” Medic continued while assembling his meal, Ranger hesitated and looked in his direction again “I know the circumstances of our meeting was on the strange side, especially since Spy stalked you to your hotel room” he said the last part quieter with a grumble “but i’m sure i’m not the only one who wouldn’t like to meet with you again” Medic and Spy weren’t so bad this way, maybe it was because they were hiding their true natures from him because he wasn’t in the loop. It could also be that he just wasn’t the same person to them, Scout was obnoxious, Sniper was a recluse, Ranger quickly pulled himself out of those thoughts and smiled.

“I’m not sure i’ll be able to if Boston goes as planned” This was probably a bad idea. They were both fine with going through with this bad idea. “let me write down my phone number and you can call me if you guys think of it”

“Wunderbar” Medic said with an almost childish smile, he’d always smiled like that at the team, it could be that he had just seen it as malicious at first, and with Spy? Sniper had been too apprehensive from all the back stabs he’d had on a daily basis. Sniper hadn’t gotten a chance to know the team, Scout had been written off too many times to feel like trying, maybe they were better this way.

‘Not too much if I punched that poor guy out of anger’ Sniper brooded

‘You never told me what that was about’

‘I had an agreement with mum before all this, I had a bad habit of getting into fights when I was younger even though all my opponents were larger than me, still do it sometimes’ Sniper regaled, a tinge of guilt floated from him ‘can’t say i’m too proud of going against her agreement but I have a bad habit of doing it anyway’

‘Huh, and I thought you’d be the last one of us to have a temper’ Ranger looked up from his silent conversation as Engie stood with a grimace on his face.

“We forgot the water” Ah. He sighed, he was the fastest even if they didn’t know that.

“Ranger-?” Springfields started, why had she chosen him?

“I’ll go get it” He interrupted. Maybe he could catch them talking if he ran fast enough, she seemed more than relieved at his quick response.

“Oh and Ranger, don’t go too quick you could get heatstroke.”

“Alright” Heatstroke? Yeah, the truck’s a good way away but not that far, Scout had run from the base to the telephone booth so many times to be sure of that. Ranger didn’t say anything though and left them, either way they would have to get that water unless they wanted to really get heatstroke. 

“Could you grab my phone as well?” Medic jumped in as he started to walk away “I just remembered I left it in the truck, I left it in the glove box”

“Sure” Ranger paused before adding “Nobody eat my sandwich”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we reached 30k words!!! :D


End file.
